Ever Onward
by reiniku
Summary: There's a few things that happened that no one knew about, save for two. Journey upon journey has led them here. And there's a few things that only the two will know about in the future. Alnel.
1. Imaginary

Okay, so this is my first Star Ocean fic. I worked crazy hard on this chapter and I do plan on this story being about eight chapters long. I like to think this chapter is really long, but whatever. It took a good week of complete dedication to write. Each chapter should be pretty long, or at least I'm going to attempt it. I have a few other ongoing fics, so I'd say this one will be updated about once every two to three weeks. I'm sorry for such a wait, but its the best I can do.

The scenes from the game are far from exact. I played it through once and cannot remember exactly how everything occurred, but I do have a general idea and basis for most things that happened. I also apologize for and OOCness that occurs. Please, if I get to bad feel free to yell at me.

Here's a few guidelines to how I write, just so you don't get lost.

_'Thought'_

"Speech"

**_Lyrics_**

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters contained within it. I also do not own Evanaescence of their lyrics. Please don't sue me, for I am poor.

**IMAGINARY**

There were so many things that were so confusing anymore. These strange invaders with large floating ships were something she never imagined she would see in her life. Nothing made any sense to her. Though Fayt and Cliff had briefed her on the circumstances of their arrival, she still understood little of what they were talking about, and she could tell they were still hiding some things. There was absolutely no way they were engineers from Greeton, of that much she was sure. But then again she had known that for quite some time now. She was also sure that they knew that she did not believe them although there was no need to confront them yet on their infidelities.

She sat, overlooking the great city that was Aquios. They were to meet with the Queen very shortly concerning what exactly they were supposed to do about this new threat to their land. Granted, Vox, the warmonger of Airygliph was dead, there were even more problems right not. Her country had no clue what this new enemy was capable of. At least with Airygliph they knew the basics of what they were getting into. But Airygliph and Aquaria right now were under a sort of cease fire because of the recent events. It was strange, to not have to worry about an attack from the neighboring country at any moment. Speaking of attack, she wondered what had ever happened to the infamous fighter, one Albel the Wicked. He had not shown himself during the battle, luckily for her allies. He was definitely something to behold in the heat of battle.

_'That man should be hung for all he has done.'_ She thought to herself. There was so much suffering caused by just that one being. It was utterly ridiculous. Her anger began to flare up inside her. One day she was sure she would make that man pay, and he would pay dearly...

She decided to stop her thoughts for a little while. A headache was coming on and that wasn't exactly something she felt like dealing with. Instead she took to looking at the view provided to her. The sun was beginning to caress the horizon, awaiting its time of rest. The soft hues of the sky were nothing short of beautiful. Soft tones made the city below look so calm and peaceful, a paradise. A content sigh passed her lips. It was times like these that always reminded her of what she was always fighting for. This city, these people, they were her life. Without them, nothing mattered.

"As long as I live, I shall protect you..." She said to no one in particular, but her words were clear. This city meant the world to her.

She turned back towards the doors. The Queen would be expecting them soon and it was rude to keep Her Majesty waiting. With a deep breath she opened the door, and entered the castle. Fayt and the others had to be around here somewhere. It was just a matter of finding them. That could be quite a feat in itself being that the members of what was now her group could be quite random at times. She decided to just wait for them, more than likely they would seek her out like they always seemed to.

As usual, she was correct in her assumptions. Before long Fayt had arrived and she had accompanied everyone to speak to the Queen.

What a meeting that had been. She did understand that the war was basically over, however she did not even consider seeking aid from those who she still considered their enemies. That and Her Majesty was to meet with the hooligans! On their own territory no less! These things struck her as outrageous and she could feel herself beginning to doubt the sanity of her Queen.

But, despite her own quarries she would obey her orders as she always had. As of this moment she was preparing for this unorthodox journey into those godforsaken ruins. Her many possessions were strewn about her bed along with her armor, which she had taken of earlier so she could repair and refit a few minor things. She never did get to address that, but what she had would have to do. She picked up her armor, pulling it over her head, and fastening everything to her liking in proper places. Overall, she was expecting this journey and meeting in the Mossel Ruins to be simple. For a moment she thought about restocking on certain items, but figured that what she had would do. It wasn't like they were heading into that dangerous of territory, and the others usually had some extra items on them. Besides, all she really needed was mental rejuvenators being that she could heal most physical ailments.

Without another thought on the matter she grabbed her weapons and exited her room, heading out into the hallway of the grand castle. She saw Fayt approaching her and gave a nod in his direction. She watched as he smiled and picked up his pace toward her. Something about that boy confused her so much. He seemed so naive, yet at the same time he handled most things generally well. That and he controlled Cliff Fittir oddly well, considering his size and strength disadvantage. She let her thoughts drop as he reached her and began speaking to her.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked. His consideration for others was another things she admired about him. It was also strange how easily he commanded her trust. She wasn't exactly the most trusting or gullible person around.

"Yes, we can leave at any time that you're ready." She said to him, giving him a tiny smirk. She wasn't one to smile a ton, and the small smirks she did give were a sign of her trust towards whom she was speaking.

"Okay, then let's go get Cliff, Rodger and Maria. Mirage is staying behind." Fayt said to her.

"By the way, have you seen Cliff?" He asked her. Of course, why would he know where he was, they were only traveling together. Sometimes the things they did made absolutely no sense to her.

"No, I haven't. I assumed he would be with you or Mirage. " Nel said lightly. Maria would be easy to find, mainly because she had said that she would be at the chapel. It wasn't a new practice to have to search for a member of the group. So they began their search of the blonde headed warrior. Rodger was also nowhere to be seen. But chances were he was probably somewhere around where Cliff was. Though the two clearly clashed, Nel had a feeling that Rodger did sort of look up to Cliff for his inhuman strength. Very shortly they found them and were en route with the Queen to the Mossel Ruins.

* * *

Nel drank in the darkness and heat relief of the cave that led to the ruins. That desert wasn't exactly what she had expected to come across, but they had traversed it eventually, stopping as often as they could to reload on their water.

"Well, I have a hunch we should go this way." The ever vigilant Cliff said to the group. Nel sighed at his suggestion. She wasn't sure if she was the only one who noticed, but Cliff had a lot of hunches. As Cliff said this Rodger gave him a dirty look. Maria also gave him a look. Apparently she wasn't the only one who seemed to notice his hunches. She suppressed a chuckle, it was funny how these people seemed to make her more easy going. The Queen had remained oddly silent during this whole journey. It seemed that she was leaving the journey up to those who were used to traveling. Again, her Queen was growing in her eyes.

The group turned to Fayt for the answer of which direction to go. Oddly enough he had concurred with the blonde man. So yet again they were moving, and slaying monsters that always seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

After about ten more battles they had finally come upon the specified meeting place. As they entered they saw the King of Airygliph along with Woltar. Instinctively Nel raised her guard. Truce or not, she couldn't trust a Glyphian as far as she could throw them, and in Woltar's case, she would be lucky to even get his large body to move an inch.

Though she had a distinct dislike of the King and especially Woltar, she did bow as was expected of her. Soon the Queen Romeria and King Arzei were talking about the problem of this giant ship and how exactly they would be able to defend themselves. She was listening, but at the same time she was also zoning out the conversation. It was expected of course, that she would be doing at least part of the work in this defense plan, but when it came to building weapons, she very rarely assisted with that. It was far from her expertise.

"In order to get close enough to that ship we would need to lift our Thunder Arrow into the air. We were hoping that you would be willing to help us in that matter." Romeria said, after they had both agreed that their countries would work together in order to defend themselves from this new threat.

"Yes, we would be willing to help, but what exactly are you proposing?" Arzei replied. Nel listened carefully at this point knowing that this was what they had come all this way for.

"We were hoping that you would be able to supply an air dragon that would be able to support the Thunder Arrow." The Queen explained. Nel sighed, this part of the plan she knew, and she was quite uncomfortable with the idea of using an air dragon. Her gaze wandered over to the King who seemed to be deep in thought. It seemed he had been expecting that answer, and he seemed slightly concerned.

"I'm afraid that we do not have an air dragon large enough to support such a weapon." He said after a few moments. This bit of information instantly angered Nel. Then there was no point of this meeting. She closed her eyes, forcing down the many words that were on the tip of her tongue. It would be utterly disrespectful to use such language in the presence of the Queen.

"So then, this meeting is over?" The Queen asked. Nel admired how calm Her Majesty had managed to stay.

"I did not say that. There is a dragon that could be used. However, he would need to be captured." The King said.

It was then that Fayt interjected. "So all we have to do is capture this dragon?"

The king gave the blue headed boy and odd look. "Yes, if you put it that way. But none of my men have yet to find and defeat the Marquis. It will not be an easy task for anyone." He explained coolly. To him, it seemed as if his men were being insulted, and in his opinion, his men were far from incompetent.

Nel could no longer hold her tongue at this point. "So there is no need for an alliance with your country?" She did say it in question form, but it was more of a statement. At that moment she could feel everyone's eyes on her. She immediately looked to her Queen. She was looking at her with a look she had not often seen. She was obviously upset with her. Nel diverted her gaze and looked at the rest of her group. Rodger had a hand clamped over his mouth, as if the words had come out of his mouth and he was trying to stop them. Cliff looked slightly incredulous. Apparently he had not expected her to speak in such a manner in front of her Queen. Quite frankly, she had not expected it either. Next to Cliff was Maria, who didn't respond in any way in particular. She was quite a weird card, one that Nel wasn't sure if she liked. Her gaze then drifted to Fayt. He was looking at her strangely, with both a look of understanding and pity. There was no way she would ever understand the mind of that boy. He was definitely an oddity. Then finally she looked over to the King.

"I...apologize your Highness, I was out of line." She said closing her eyes and bowing.

"It is fine. I understand your concern. However, the dragon's den that you would be seeking out would be in Airygliph territory. That and the dragon lair itself is not something to be taken lightly. I will have a Lord of mine who is well practiced in dragons accompany you." Arzei said, again, reverting to a conversation exclusively between himself and Romeria.

"I see. I will agree to such terms. It is the only option we have at this time, and the expertise of someone who is used to dragons will be needed." Romeria replied. King Airygliph nodded at this, a smile of acceptance on his face.

"Where and when shall they meet with this Lord?" Queen Romeria asked.

"As soon as you are escorted back to your castle, they would come to Airygliph to meet up with Lord Nox." He replied. Nel's eyes shot open at this. She was about to say something when she felt the presence of Cliff and Fayt beside her. She could feel what they were saying without words. And she complied, it was of no use to argue for the Queen had already made up her mind.

"Very well. We should put this plan into action immediately. I'd like to thank you, King Arzei for your cooperation in this matter." Her Majesty said.

"I must thank you as well. These times require our alliance, and I thank you for your trust. Now, we should commence this plan." The King said.

Queen Romeria nodded, and turned toward the rest of the group. Nel looked up to her, showing as much as she could the discomfort she had with the plan that was being presented. However, the Queen seemed to take no notice and addressed Fayt.

"I must apologize, but we will again be in need of your assistance." She said to him.

He nodded, his face becoming serious. "I understand your Majesty. As soon as we escort you back to the castle we will be going to Airygliph."

"Besides, much of this is our fault to begin with." Maria added in, she always seemed to need to have a say.

And so, the madness began.

* * *

Luckily, they didn't have to travel all the way to Aquios before heading to Airygliph. They had been able to leave the Queen with Tynave and Farleen and have them escort her back to Aquios. Maybe this wasn't as good of luck as one might think, especially for one, Nel Zelpher. She was still rather angered at the news of their new companion for this mission.

_'Why on Elicoor would we need his help?' _She thought. She knew she was being slightly petty and she did easily see his use, but still. Why _him_? Was Apris trying to make her loose her mind? If she was, the goddess was definitely doing an excellent job. Many times she debated on arguing with the team to just go on without Albel the Wicked, but she knew there was no chance. It wasn't that she didn't want to fight for what she thought, it was just that she understood there was no use in even attempting such a thing right now. Too much was on the line for everyone. It was becoming quite apparent that she would have to get over it and push on, despite her clear dislike of the man.

She continued to look down at the ground, staring daggers at it. If looks could kill, that dirt would have died a thousand times over. Her thoughts were as gloomy as the looks she was giving to anything that came into her range of view. Luckily, most living organisms avoided her scrutiny.

Nel was so caught up in her anger that she hadn't realized the group had stopped in front of her. Thus, she did what any other intelligent human being would do. She walked right into the back of Cliff Fittir.

"Hey, watch where you're going. I know I'm distracting, but we've all got to deal with that." Cliff said to the now slightly flustered Nel. Maria just shook her head at this while Rodger looked at him uncomprehendingly. Fayt chuckled lightly, causing Nel's glare to move to him. Immediately his laughter was lost. His face contorted into a slight look of fright at the red head's silent promise of death if he continued laughing. Within seconds the atmosphere became thick with tension.

"Ooookay..." Cliff said, hoping to dissolve a little of the uneasiness that had settled in. Luckily for them, it worked and Nel tore her gaze from Fayt, schooled her features into somewhat less of a scowl and faced the group.

"Well, we're here, this is the gate to Airygliph." Fayt said.

"Yeah, it's weird to be back here, considering the last time we were here we were escaping torture." Cliff said in a joking tone.

"Shall we?" Maria said, and led the way into the city, despite that fact that she had no clue where she was going. Nel shook her head at the girl's arrogance. It was never smart to walk into a place that you did not know blindly, and that's exactly what that girl was doing. _'Another brainiac.' _She thought bitterly. It was clear to her that she was misdirecting her anger, and she did kind of regret it, but at the same time, what else was she supposed to do?

Again she found her feet moving across the ground. They were headed directly for the castle. _'I feel like I'm marching to my doom_.' She thought dryly. But as they came to the castle doors, she shed her attitude, knowing that she did not want to embarrass herself or her country in the presence of the King.

Before she knew it they were on their way to retrieve the one and only Albel Nox with Woltar leading the way. Oh joy, two of her most favorite people in the world.

She was so preoccupied with her anger that she didn't realize that they were en route to the dungeon. She only realized where they were when they stopped in front of a cell. Looking around she remembered having to pull a rescue mission to get both Cliff and Fayt out of here. That time now seemed so long ago. A resounding click caught her attention, as the door of the cell that they were in front of was opened. Everyone entered while she stayed by the door. She couldn't even believe what she saw.

_**I linger in the doorway**_

_'What...what in the world is he doing down here?'_ She thought to herself, her eyes slightly larger than usual_. 'Did he go as low as to betray his own country?' _The thought had come to her before her mind had a chance to think. However, she almost immediately dismissed that option. She very much doubted that this man, despite all his evils, had betrayed his country. But then again, one could never be too sure.

Numbly, she listened to part of what Woltar was saying. So, Vox was the cause of this too. How fitting. She looked at the cause of fear in many Aquarian hearts. He looked ridiculously malnourished as he hung there from his bindings. This was an extremely shameful experience for him, that much was obvious. His enemies seeing him like this could not have been very high on his list of things to do. And to think, the reason he was in here was because of the very people who had come to retrieve him. He was locked up in this god forsaken place because of how he had let them escape from the Kirlsa training facility and how he had been defeated, with difficulty, by them when they had come to get the copper from the mines. But somehow, she couldn't take her eyes off the man. It was so strange to think that his country could so easily lock him up and treat him as an enemy. If he had been anyone else, she might have felt pity for them. Albel the Wicked was not worthy of anyone's pity.

After a few more moments of talking between Woltar, Albel and Fayt, the group found themselves freeing this threat to human life so he could travel with them. As soon as he was free, Nel drew her eyes away from him. No matter the circumstances, she would always hate that man. The way he looked down upon everything infuriated her. He was a pompous jerk.

Before a conversation had a chance to ensue, Fayt led everyone back to the King's throne room.

* * *

It was rather strange, the King requesting them to run a letter all the way to Aquios at such a desperate time. Albel clearly thought the same, his response to the request had been to storm out of the throne room as soon as he was allowed. He had not even bowed to the ruler of his country. _'Arrogant filth.'_ She thought disdainfully. She could never even imagine not bowing to her Queen, or any of her comrades for that matter, to disrespect her like that Then again she guessed that she should have expected such behavior from the man. He wasn't exactly a prince when it came to manners.

Soon, the group found themselves on their way to Aquios, letter in hand. The whole trip was rather quiet. It seemed that everyone had their minds on something, and it wasn't the trip they were currently on. Nel found herself thinking of the journey that would commence after they finished their errand to the Royal City. Dragons were far from her favorite animal, and they were never things to take lightly. Of that she was certain. For a while she dwelt on how exactly it would be best to defeat the beasts. However, she let her thoughts end as she realized that they were already in the city of Peterny. She let a satisfied look come to her face. It was only about midday and they were already more than half of the way there.

"I think we should just keep going, there's no need to stop, is there?" Cliff asked as they all entered the city.

"Well, I don't need anything, and I've got little things to munch on for the rest of the trip." Fayt said. He then looked over to Maria. "Is there anything that you want to stop for?"

She looked at him levelly. "No, I prepared myself in Airygliph."

Fayt nodded at this and motioned to Rodger. "And you?"

"A real man is always ready for a quest." Rodger spouted off, clearly insulted to even be thought of as unprepared. A smile came across Fayt's face at the menodix's response. How defensive he could be at times.

Fayt then glanced over to Albel, who had been deathly silent. He didn't even have a chance to open his mouth before Albel spoke.

"I need nothing from these Aquarian scum." He said idly. Nel felt her anger shoot up within her.

"Be careful what you say Nox, you are surrounded by Aquarians." Nel said fiercely. The last thing she would allow was this man to insult her people. He didn't even deserve to walk on the same ground as they did. Albel shot her a glare, threatening her to open her mouth again. She did not back down however and glared back at the atrociousness of a human being. The group came to a halt in the Town Square as the two had a battle of wills. Luckily, before weapons were drawn Cliff stepped in front of Nel and began idly chatting with her. She didn't actually hear a word he said, but he did serve to break the icy contact between the two Elicoorians. Without another word between the two, they all made their way to the exit, ready to complete the last stretch before Aquios.

'Finally, home' Nel thought to herself as she entered the gates to the place of her birth. The feeling of being home was one she always cherished. A feeling of peace engulfed her being. She was even trying to forget that she was in the presence of one of her most hated enemies. And for the most part, it was working.

They all continued on toward the castle, wanting to get their errand done and over with as quickly as possible. As they passed the last street before the castle Nel's gaze wandered down the street. Ah, there were memories down there, it had been quite some time since she had last visited. But these thoughts were not what she needed right now, and she turned away briskly. She did not notice that certain group members saw her look, and wondered slightly at the small change in her demeanor. However, there was nothing that could be done at the moment, they had to visit Elena.

_

* * *

'Well that was a waste of time.' Nel thought to herself. Elena had not even read the enclosed letter. A head ache was working its way over her brain. __'I just love wasting my time.'_Nel thought to herself. Elena had not even read the enclosed letter. A head ache was working its way over her brain. 

She was leading the way down the steps from the castle, the rest of the group, besides Albel who hung a good distance from the group at all costs, were all right behind her. That is, until they came upon the entrance to a certain street. Fayt, stopped to look down the street, his pause caused Cliff and Maria to stop and Rodger to run into the backs of their legs.

"Hey kid, why are we stoppin?" Cliff asked. Albel merely settled himself against the wall to watch the maggots converse on whatever matter they would. He was surprised that the blue headed one had even noticed the Crimson Blade's pause at this street on the way in.

The question caught Nel's attention, causing her to stop and turn back towards the group, a look of annoyance came upon her pretty face.

"Nel...you looked like you wanted to see something down here earlier. We could do that now, what do you say?"

_'Huh? He noticed that? I didn't think I was being that obvious.' _She thought to herself. She figured the easiest way out of this situation was just to deny it. Besides, she doubted they would push her to do anything.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm prepared to leave." Nel said, acting as if she had no clue what Fayt was talking about. Maria looked up to Fayt, and just shook her head, having not seen the red head pause on the way in. Cliff did something of a similar fashion. Just as Fayt was about to accept this and continue on another voice came into the conversation.

"You looked down this street when we first came in fool. There is something that you wanted to do, then do it, I do not want make another trip to this disgusting place again." Albel said, not moving from his position against the wall on which he was leaning. Fayt just looked at him, happy that someone else had also seen Nel's reaction and slightly thankful for the proof that he wasn't going crazy.

_**Of alarm clocks screaming**_

Nel couldn't believe he of all people had noticed. She was so dumbstruck that she just stood there and stared at him. Why in the world would he have noticed anything that she was doing? They weren't on any kind of friendly terms, this made no sense.

"So, I take it Albel is right then? Well, let's go do whatever it was you wanted to do." Cliff said, beginning down the street that she knew was unfamiliar to him.

Reluctantly she began to follow, and everyone else followed her. Before she could even prepare herself, she was in front of it. The Zelpher family mansion. She looked back at everyone. There was a certain apprehension she had about being here.

"We really don't have to stop here, I'm fine." She said to everyone. Her eyes came to the Glyphian among them. He seemed rather calm for being in the middle of what was once an enemy city. He also was looking right back at her, as if he was challenging her. Without another thought she began her way into the mansion, hoping that she was ready for this reunion.

Albel merely smirked to himself. He knew he could get her to go in, and he hadn't even had to verbally confront her, damn, he was good. The Zelpher estate. He was fairly sure he knew what was going to be said inside. Zelpher would soon be smacked in the face with her past. He knew that the past could be an especially painful thing. And this was no different.

_**Monsters calling my name

* * *

**_

What a meeting that had been. Her mind was still swimming with the words that had been said. Her brain was straining to take it all in at once. '_My father...Woltar...I should have known...'_ She had known that her father's death had been something of what she had heard, but at the same time, knowing the actual details seemed to upset her. Though she did not let it show. To show that emotion would have been a weakness. A weakness she did not want to show anyone, especially a certain swordsman who had been present.

She sighed to herself. That had been a meeting she knew would come some day, granted she never really planned on exactly what would happen and she didn't expect to find out what she had. Overall, she would call herself drained at the moment. It did feel good to have something to remember her father by, namely his daggers. But at the same time she almost wished she hadn't gone inside. There seemed to be a large boulder weighing down on her now, and she didn't have the want, nor need to deal with it right now.

_**Let me stay**_

They were now heading back to Airygliph and were currently just an hour or so away from Peterny. The evening sky was beginning to darken. They would probably be staying in Peterny for the night. It didn't really matter to her at the moment, she just needed some down time. Her mind was wandering and though there hadn't been many monsters to fight, her mental energy was nearly gone. Probably from the stress she was putting on herself.

The gates of Peterny welcomed them, and they all went to the Inn to check in. It would be best to at least reserve rooms for everyone before they all went their separate ways for the night. Nel immediately went to her room. She was not up for dealing with other people right now. She wasn't much of a people person to begin with.

She reached her room shortly, and she began preparing herself for bed. Her armor was discarded, her weapons placed neatly beside it. She stayed in her black formfitting body suit. She rarely liked having to change in the morning, especially because she was used to rushing. She opened the small window in her room and let the gentle breeze play with her crimson locks.

_**Where the wind will whisper to me**_

There was a certain comfort in the wind, it was helping to sooth her fraying nerves. A content smile was slowly etching its way on to her face. _'Everything...it's going to be okay...I don't know why, but for some reason I know it.' _The thought made her relax some. Confidence was something she knew she would need along with some good rest. This journey was far from over.

* * *

_'Finally.'_ She thought to herself as they were leaving Airygliph after delivering Elena's message to King Airygliph. Now they could finally address this dragon problem, not that she was looking forward to it. Quite the contrary actually, but that was too bad. She had a duty and a mission. The time had come to fulfill it. Right now, she had settled herself in the center of the group as they came to the exit to the Royal City. She was in a fairly good mood and was quite happy that they were done with running errands.

Her eyes fell on three dragons and their masters, only two masters, just past the bridge from the city. _'No.'_ She thought immediately. Fighting dragons was one thing, even capturing them was fine. But there was no way she would be caught dead riding on one. No way no how uh uh not happening. She looked over towards Fayt to gauge his reaction. He didn't seemed phased by their presence yet, but he may not have noticed. _'Good, that means he might not even notice and we might not have to...'_

"Hey what are they doing over there?" Cliff asked. _'Damn you, blonde moron. You know just how to ruin everything.'_ Nel thought evilly. He just had to say something.

"They couldn't expect us to ride on them?" Maria asked. Apparently dragons weren't her expertise either. Rodger gulped at the mention of that, another one who must not have been on the greatest terms with these beasts.

"Well, it would be a lot faster, and warmer, we wouldn't have to travel through the Traum Mountains." Fayt said hoping to gain some support. He didn't seem to have much of a fear of them and neither did Cliff. Of course Albel didn't, he was a Glyphian. _'Damn men'. _Nel thought to herself. Her fate was becoming more and more apparent as each moment passed. Now that she thought of it, where was Albel?

She looked around for a moment before she spotted the purple clad man. Briefly she wondered how he dealt with the cold in such attire, but she dismissed it as she noticed that he was talking to the Airygliph soldiers up ahead. She couldn't even remember when he had gotten ahead of them.

Nel dreaded every step they took towards the dragons, but she would be damned if she would show it. If she wasn't one thing, it was weak. A little obstacle would not stop her. She forced herself to stride confidently forward, catching up with Cliff and Fayt.

"Well Lord Albel, we can take you to the entrance to the Urlsa Lava Caves if you want. I'm sure it would be much quicker this way." One of the soldiers was saying. Nel controlled her scowl. She just then realized that she would have to ride with a Glyphian controlling one of these monstrosities.

"I know that maggot." He said, his voice his usual gruff and arrogant tone. But he seemed to wait for Fayt to say something.

"Yes, it would be easier to be taken to the Urlsa Lava Caves, that is, if its not too much trouble." Fayt finally said. Ever the polite young noble. Too bad he was so naive.

"Nothing is too much trouble for our country. Just mount a dragon and we'll be off." The second soldier replied.

Fayt nodded. "Thank you."

Cliff then walked up to one of the dragons. "We're not driving these things, are we?"

"Of course not fool, that's why they are here." Albel retorted. At this, the two soldiers each mounted their respective dragons. They signaled for the others to get on behind them. Cliff was the first one to take the invitation, and walked up and hopped on behind one of the soldiers. Fayt didn't take long to do the same, pulling Maria along with him. She hastily got on first, with Fayt sitting behind her and the soldier seated in the front.

Nel looked around and watched Albel head over to the third unoccupied dragon. It looked like there were three dragons for a reason, and he was considered capable of taking care of himself with the beast. Dead set on not riding with the gruesome man she walked over to the dragon occupied by Cliff and now a very green looking Rodger. She moved to board, but was stopped by the voice of the soldier.

"Sorry Miss, but you'll have to ride with Lord Albel. As you can see this guy isn't exactly a small load." The soldier said.

"Hey! Who you calling fat!" Cliff retorted, but Nel stopped listening. Her fury was swiftly beginning to take control of her mind. She had to ride with him. Oh yes, Apris was definitely out to kill her. And she was doing a damn good job of setting her up for her downfall.

She turned around, looking over to the dragon that the crimson eyed warrior was currently mounting. He seemed to be adjusting a few things with a look of absolute hate on his face. _'He's just as unhappy as I am about this, if not more so. I'll be lucky to keep myself alive.'_

"We're off!" The first soldier yelled and took off into the air. Cliff gave her a look before his dragon too was airborne. Now, they were completely alone, together. Oh what a fun time this would be.

"Are you coming worm, or are you going to stand there and wait for your goddess to transport you there?" He asked, sarcasm clearly in his voice. He was already trying to start a fight with her. Yes, this would be interesting.

"Shut it Nox, I'm just as unhappy about this as you are." Nel retorted shortly.

"I highly doubt that maggot, now get on before we fall too far behind." End of conversation. They did have to leave soon of they would hold the others up. Dutifully she walked over to the two beasts. Albel was already mounted, looking directly ahead of him. _'He really hates me that much.'_ She had no clue that his thoughts were right along the same line.

As gracefully as she could, she climbed up behind him, doing her best not to touch him, though she was almost certain that at one point or another, there would be no other way. She heard a rumble and immediately looked down at the beast, her eyes widening.

"It's a storm moving in fool." He stated as if were the most obvious thing in the world.

_**Where the raindrops as they're forming**_

Nel closed her eyes in frustration. If he wanted a fight she wasn't one to back down, but right now she decided it best to stay on at least civil terms with him, being that he was the director of the monster under her. She settled her rear as comfortably as she could on the back of the dragon, and braced herself as much as she could so she would not have to hold onto the man in front of her.

Without warning the dragon's large wings spread out and gave a flap, lifting them off the ground. Nel felt herself loosing her balance. Her arms flailed, reaching for anything to grab onto, yet avoiding the one thing that was readily accessible in front of her. She found herself tumbling backwards, her eyes shut tightly, waiting for the fall that she was so sure that would come. There wasn't anything to stop her.

Surprised would be an understatement. The hand that had a firm hold on her upper arm that had restored her balance was something she never expected. Nel opened her eyes to find Albel, half turned around and gripping her arm with his good hand, steadying her and keeping her from falling. Faced with falling from the ever rising dragon or avoiding the plunge she chose the latter, wrapping her arms around Albel's middle and pulling herself completely upright. He released his grip from her and returned his hand to reins of the dragon, pointing them in a direction and continuing onward through the air.

Silence fell over the two during the flight. It was only broken by the occasional clash of thunder in the dark clouds that had taken over the skies. Then, almost without warning, the rain began. And it wasn't just a light rain, it was nearly a downpour.

Nel heard Albel give a growl when the weather began to turn worse. She understood his frustration, it wasn't exactly a good idea to just land in the middle of nowhere. It was basically understood that they were going to fly on through the storm. It was beginning to get darker, despite it being only slightly after midday. Flashes of lighting were jumping from cloud to cloud menacingly.

Another crash of thunder sounded, louder than the last, causing Nel to jump, and to loose her slippery grip on the bare torso of her companion. She let out a small sound, something like a whimper as she slid down the back of the beast. She saw Albel look back at her as if he was about to help her when a fierce gust of wind caused the dragon to move awkwardly. He turned back around, pulling on the reins, trying to reestablish the course of the dragon and make the flight slightly more steady.

Meanwhile, Nel found herself slipping even further, despite her best efforts. Before long she found herself holding onto the tail of the dragon, dangling helplessly. What was worse, her grip was loosening, there was nothing she could firmly grab onto save the slippery tail. She gave a grunt of frustration as she did everything in her power to try and pull herself up, but the unpredictable flapping of the dragon's tail was not helping in the slightest. With one more mighty flap she found her grip almost completely lost. If the tail moved again, she would surely fall to her doom.

Sure enough, the dragon shifted its tail once more, causing her hands to slip from the scaly surface. Her eyes widened as she felt the surface escape her nimble fingers.

"Vile beast!" She was sure she heard the words, but her mind wasn't exactly on listening.

Then, a sight she never thought she would be happy to see came to her. Just as her grip was completely gone Albel was over her, reaching down to her, and his wet hand caught her damp wrist. She felt her added weight cause him to slip forward slightly

"We're both going to fall like this!" Nel screamed to him.

_**Tell a story**_

He gave her a look that clearly meant for her to shut her mouth. She watched as he tried to steady himself in the awkward position he was in. She could feel it, she was going to cause them both to fall if something didn't change soon. The dragon gave another weird twitch and she felt Albel's body lurch forward further. Things were not looking very good at the moment.

"Stupid maggot!" Nel had no clue whether he was addressing her or the dragon, but she honestly had little care at the moment.

"Albel, you have to let go of me, or you are going to fall too!" She told him, trying to pull her hand from his grip, however, she was unsuccessful.

"Shut up!" He yelled at her, a clash of thunder sounded, so she wasn't sure if he had added any of his favorite suffixes. "When I tell you to, be ready to grab onto anything you can."

She couldn't believe it, he was going to drop her. Yes, she had told him to, but still, he was going to drop her! Her resolve on survival strengthened.

"Zelpher! Did you hear me!" He screamed down to her. She nodded her head curtly, a frown deeply ingrained on her features.

He gave a sudden jerk of his arm and yelled "Now!" She found herself flying towards him in the air. Her body impacted his slightly, but luckily she was able to grab the reins of the dragon to quickly steady herself. She then looked back at the man who was still oddly dangling on the back of the dragon. She studied his position for a moment, noting how his feet were securely tucked into the joints of the dragon's wings, which allowed him to hang there like that. _'At least he's somewhat intelligent'_ She thought to herself. Then she remembered this man had literally just saved her life and she was letting him sit there, practically helpless.

She turned around, one hand gripping the reins fiercely, she would be damned if she fell off again. The dragon bucked at the tight grip, but she ignored it for the time being. She leaned down over Albel legs and down to the point where she could reach his waist. She saw him glance back at her with an unreadable look, but she paid no mind to it. Her hands came upon the cord that strung about his waist and kept his sarong fastened to him. She grasped it tightly. She then began to pull him toward her little by little while pulling herself upright once again at the same time. Once he was fairly upright and seemed able to situate himself she let go of him and turned back around. The dragon was beginning to get a bit unruly, and she didn't want another falling incident to occur, so she began tugging on the reins, completely clueless on what she was doing.

Behind her she could feel Albel turning himself around. Meanwhile the dragon was becoming more and more ill tempered with its controller. It began to protest the tightness of the reins by jerking its head this way and that. A state of panic was beginning to overtake her. Lucky for her two arms came around her and gripped the reins.

"Let go Zelpher."

She did as she was told, having no clue what to do in the first place. She didn't even notice the close proximity they were sharing as they battled for their lives from the grip of nature. The rain was still pounding down upon them, the storm unrelenting. She found herself holding on tightly to the dragon's neck while Albel directed the dragon from behind her. But the fierce winds helped them little, and the dragon was beginning to become fatigued.

"Nox, we have to land and wait out the storm." She wasn't sure if he would listen to her, but she was definitely hoping he would. Falling wasn't exactly her way of dieing.

"What do you think I'm doing Zelpher?" He shot back. After a glance back she noticed that he was scanning the grounds below, probably looking for a decent place to land. Before long he was maneuvering the dragon as best as could be expected toward the ground, near what looked like a small alcove in the mountain.

The feeling of ground beneath her feet was unforgettable once they had touched down. Rain was still coming down in sheets, but at the moment she was very thankful to be alive.

_**In my field of paper flowers**_

However, the euphoria faded quickly enough. His voice crashed down upon her thoughts.

"Into the cavern unless you're waiting for loose rocks to bludgeon you to your death."

_'What caring words.' _She thought to herself sarcastically. As she looked up she did realize that he was indeed right. It wasn't the smartest idea to just stand where she was. So, with some reluctance she followed him and the dragon which he was guiding using the reins in his hands. It was a rather small outcropping, but it did provide at least some protection from the elements. She watched as he used the reins to tie the dragon to a heavy boulder, ensuring them a route of transportation once the storm passed. At first the dragon protested, but Albel gave it a cold hard and commanding glare and it ceased its struggles. It was on the ground in a matter of seconds, slumbering to regain its energy.

_**And candy clouds of lullaby**_

Nel was surprised at how easy it was for him to control the beast, but she chalked that up to him being the captain of the Black Brigade. He may not have been the captain of the Dragon Brigade, but in order to be a captain she was sure that it took many different areas of skill. She would never say such a thing to him though. He was not worthy of her praise.

Albel turned from the dragon and peered out into their surroundings, mainly looking at the sky.

"The storm will be over in a few hours, just in time for day break. We'll have to meet with those other maggots in the morning." She was slightly surprised to hear him explain their situation to her, though she had already assumed most of what he said. It just didn't seem fitting for him to explain to her of all people what was going on.

He began to walk towards the corner of the alcove, picking up things that she could not see with the poor lighting. Being as defensive as she was she automatically assumed the worse and thought that he was plotting against her in some manner. But no, she would not be caught off guard. Her hands moved to her daggers, becoming ready to draw them at any moment.

"Do you really think that I am about to attack you Zelpher?" He asked, his back still turned while he continued whatever it was he was doing. Taken aback by his answer, she merely stared at him.

"I see, all of you fools see me the same then. But let me tell you this. If I wanted you dead you would have been gone long ago." He stood up and Nel immediately pulled her daggers half way out of their sheaths from surprise. He was walking towards her, whatever was in his arms still hidden. She couldn't see what the hell he was carrying and it was beginning to alarm her. When he was within an arm's length of her, he dropped the load from his arms, letting it tumble to the rocky surface between them.

"Sticks?" Nel looked down at the pile incredulously. That wasn't exactly what she was expecting.

"What exactly to you use to start a fire Zelpher?" It was a rhetorical question, and she almost guessed she deserved it for her reaction. But that didn't stop her from responding.

"Well if you weren't always out to kill something then maybe people wouldn't just assume things of you!" She had to force herself not to bring a hand up to her mouth or to apologize. All she did was look at him, waiting for him to react. He looked directly at her, the gaze he gave her was what she could only describe as an evil grin. He then turned around, and continued to look around at their surroundings, more than likely trying to figure out where exactly they were.

"Light the fire, you should be good for at least that much."

She didn't respond to his question and did as he asked. A small fire bolt sprung from her hand and onto the pile of sticks, igniting it almost instantly. She held her tongue, feeling a little guilty for letting her anger control her actions just a few moments ago. Her eyes moved to Albel, scanning his frame. His clothes were sopping wet and clinging to him. His black and blonde hair was nearly plastered to his head, and the cloth surrounding the two long pieces was beginning to come undone.

Looking at him made her remember exactly what kind of state she was in. Her clothes were soaked and her vibrant hair was plastered to her head in a wet mop. On top of that, she was freezing. She just seemed to realize how cold she was, and goose bumps sprawled their way across her skin in protest to the cold. That and she was tired. Exhausted was more like it. The life threatening situations could definitely take it out of her.

"Rest, you'll be of no use to me if you are tired." Albel said. She briefly wondered when he had turned around or how he knew that she was tired, but let it go.

"I'm not tired." She replied, having to resist the strong urge to yawn.

"Do not try to fool yourself. You're not fooling me." Came his stern reply.

She had to admit that he was right, but there was no reason for him to know that. Instead she seemingly unwillingly sat herself down next to the fire and against the stone wall. Without her consent she found herself drifting off. Try as she might, she could not fight what her body was calling for, and she, like the dragon, took to sleep and dreams of her mind's own choosing.

_**I lie inside myself for hours**_

Albel was not as lucky however. Sleep was not one of his preferred activities. Besides, he figured that someone had to keep watch for dangers, and so he settled himself down next to the fire, hoping that some amount of the water that was drenching his clothes would evaporate.

His slim fingers undid the knots that surrounded the long strands of hair on his back. He laid the pieces of cloth next to the fire in hopes that they would dry quickly and he could have his hair wrapped up before the Crimson Blade even awoke. He also began to wring out his clothes, removing as much water as he could. During this time he still remained completely alert to his surroundings, ready to strike anything that dared to threaten what was currently his territory. Luckily for the residents of the mountain, nothing came out to greet the captain.

The storm began to settle, the rain ceasing and a few of the clouds receding. A small portion of the sky was illuminated by the sun behind it. It was clearly getting late if the dark hues of the sun were any clue.

_**And watch my purple skies fly over me**_

He looked out into the horizon, not having anything better to do. The sun was nearly gone now, hidden by the distance and darkness would be upon them soon. The colors of the sky were beginning to fade into the deep hues of night. _'The temperature will be dropping soon.'_ He thought to himself, and looked over to the poor excuse of a fire that they had been able to put together. Another hour at most and it would be spent. That could be a bit of a problem, considering it was already cold and he was far from dry yet. He looked over to the dragon, noting that it was still sleeping. It would be fine, it was used to being in the elements. _'If such a beast can survive like this, than so can I.'_ The truth was he knew he would probably end up sick because of the current predicament, but he would never show that to the others. And he hadn't brought anything to heal a cold, though he did have tidbits of this and that for serious wounds and what not.

_'I just won't let it come to that.'_

A feeling of fatigue began to creep upon him, but he knew he could force it off without too much of a fight. He had become a master at controlling his body, that's why he was so agile. He also had a way of convincing himself that he wasn't tired. Somehow, his body believed him, and when it didn't, he forced it to.

For some time he just sat there, waiting for something, though he wasn't really sure what it was he was waiting for. Periodically he checked the strips of cloth he had lain out by the fire. The last time he had checked they were nearly dry. Good, he wasn't very fond of the idea of the red head seeing him with his hair out. No one saw him with his hair askew, save for a few maids or Woltar and he wasn't about to change that tradition. He looked around and saw that the fire only had a few minutes of warmth left to give. For a moment he closed his eyes in thought, then rose to his feet. His clothes were dryer, though they were still far from being dry and didn't provide much help when it came to conserving body heat. He pulled the long strands of hair over his shoulder and began to wring them out, getting as much moisture out of his hair as possible. He then moved to grab one of the strips next to the dwindling flames. His hands probed the material, determining whether or not it was dry enough to use. After a few moments he walked out of the alcove and onto the edge of the platform of where they had landed, clothe in hand.

A few stars were beginning to show themselves between the remaining clouds of the storm. The rocks on which he stood were still slick with rain and the sound of dripping surrounded him. All of the extra water had to go somewhere, and eventually it would run off to some river. Albel sat himself down, his feet dangling over the edge. It would be some drop down, and he was mildly surprised he had managed to direct the dragon to this place

His surprise did not last however as his ego took over.

_'Of course I was able to, I'm not some weak maggot.'_ He thought to himself. Bringing a hand behind his back, he grabbed about half of his hair that was hanging in its full length on his back. He brought it forward and began to wrap it with tiny movements. The motions did not seem to require his full attention, and his gaze remained on the ever darkening landscape. By the time he had finished with the wrap it was nearly pitch black out and the temperature had dropped even further. If there were to be any precipitation, it would probably come down in the form of ice or snow.

"Bah..." He muttered, standing up. Things just had to be difficult. He turned around and began to his return to the alcove. The last flickers of flame from the fire caught his eye right before it died out, hot embers all that was remaining. Zelpher was still asleep next to it, her body curled as closely as it could get to its only source of warmth. He was almost tempted to do similar, but quickly threw the idea off as ludicrous and unnecessary. The other strip for his hair was still there and he snatched it up off the ground. He stepped closer to the wall of rock, then sat down next to it, going to work on his hair once again.

As he sat there he played close attention to his unwilling traveling companion. Her face was scrunched up, and her body had begun to curl more tightly into itself, shivers taking over her body. _'Any Glyphian can handle this weather. Aquarians are so weak'. _He thought to himself as an unbidden shiver took his body. So he was a little cold, any being would be, but it wasn't like he needed anything, he would survive just as he was.

He continued to watch her, and noticed that it wasn't so much the cold that seemed to be bothering her anymore. If anything she seemed to be having a nightmare. _'How I despise babysitting.'_ These weren't the kind of things that he dealt with. Monsters, battles, death, they were all familiar, but he did not enjoy looking out for anyone else. No one did it for him, there was no reason for him to do it for someone else.

All of a sudden, the red head bolted to alertness, hand over her heaving chest and her breaths coming rapidly and quite sharply. He studied her, surprised at her weakness and that she was still letting the dream effect her.

"Bad dream maggot?" He said mockingly. Apparently he had overestimated her abilities. How disappointing this was all becoming. And for a little while he had almost thought she was different, that she was stronger than most. She turned toward him, barely able to see him, being that she had just woken up and it was completely dark within the alcove.

"Shut it Nox. A monster like you would never understand."

_**Don't say I'm out of touch**_

There it was, he had been expecting a response like that, though somewhere he had hoped that maybe she wouldn't retaliate the way she had. Too bad this was the real world and things didn't happen like that. He merely shook his head.

"You're right, I will never understand the fears of weaklings like you." The words slipped from his mouth just as the millions of insults had before. Everything was back to normal. Nothing mattered once again. He could almost feel her anger in the air, though he knew that was impossible. But he was certain that she was probably fuming at this point, he could see her hands on her father's precious daggers. _'And they call me confrontational.'_

"How exactly do you live with yourself? You're hated by everyone and all you live for is battle! Your life is worth nothing!" She yelled at him. Her eyes were fierce at this point, they were shining with her determination. It was high time someone set this man into his place and she had no objections to being just the one to fulfill that duty. She waited for some response. Her senses were met with silence. This served to anger her further. So she continued, wanting at least some form of recognition from him.

"No response to that Nox? Have I finally found something that renders you speechless? The truth hurts doesn't it?" All of a sudden he appeared directly in front of her, his eyes boring down into hers. She felt her breath catch in her throat. She now realized just how sensitive of a spot she must have hit, and began to regret her words. There was no reason for her to go after him like that, and she knew it. She must still have been in a foul mood because of that dream.

_**With this rampant chaos your reality**_

"You know nothing fool. I suggest you shut your mouth." His voice was so dead. No edge, no nothing. But he was dead serious and she shut her mouth tightly, almost afraid of him for a moment. He backed away quickly and moved back into the corner of the alcove. Nel just sat there, stunned for a few moments. Then she settled herself in the most comfortable sitting position she could, and tried to keep herself warm as she thought. It was crazy, but she felt a strong force within her begging her to apologize to Albel. But even if she did stoop to that level, what exactly should she say? That was another question she could not answer. But as she stared into the darkness that she knew he was concealed in, she made up her mind. Without further ado she began to crawl into the corner, controlling her shivers as much as she could.

"What exactly do you think you're doing worm?" His voice was now normal again, if not a little on the angry side.

"I..." This was it, it's now or never. "I just came over to apologize..." She forced out through clenched teeth, shutting her eyes tightly as well as she said the words.

"Leave maggot." He replied. She couldn't believe it! She was going against all of her better judgment in apologizing to him and here he was not even acknowledging it! This man truly had no manners at all. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to protest.

"I come over here to.." Her words were cut off when he came closer to her and she saw his bright crimson eyes.

"Fool, do not apologize for what you think, only the weak do such a thing." The words struck her oddly, and caused a great sadness to rise up within her. For a moment his eyes stayed upon her, but then he swiftly turned away. She suddenly felt so horrible because of the things she had said, and she knew that even if she did apologize again, the result would be the same, the words had already been spoken. But there was something in her that made her have to try once more. It was strange, but she couldn't just let things stand as they were.

She sought out his profile with her eyes, just barely being able to see the outline of his body. He even looked to be shivering slightly, just as she was. _'So he is human.'_ As soon as the thought came to her she scolded herself. _'Of course he's human you moron. It's just...'_ Her train of thought enlightened her to something she hadn't realized before. No one really treated Albel as if he was human, except for Fayt, but he would treat a rock as a companion if given a chance, and that was what made him special. But as for the rest of them, they all looked down upon him, or feared him, or just all around despised him for some reason or another. It was no wonder he was like this. A better attitude on his part might help things, but the same could be said for both sides.

"Albel..." Her lips had moved without her consent, she had not meant to say his name, it just sort of seeped out. The small sound caused him to look in her direction again. His eyes were different from the last time though. They looked as if they were searching for something. Their eyes were locked and she almost felt slightly violated. It felt as if he was peering into her soul and was looking into the deepest parts of her heart. A warmth began to spread itself onto her cheeks, and she thanked Apris for the darkness. She was quite uncomfortable at the moment, but could not find the strength to pull away.

"Could you...stop?" She asked after a few moments, breaking the stare and looking anywhere but at him. She felt more than saw him lift his intense gaze from her. He was still looking in her direction however, which made her thing that he wanted to say something. She gathered the little dignity that she still had with the blush still on her face and came to look at him once again.

"What is it you wanted to say Zelpher?" He asked. There was no beating around the bush about it. He could be so direct at times, it was unnerving. Despite all this she took a deep breath and figured she'd wing it.

"I wanted to apologize..."Again she was cut off

"We were already over this fool..."But this time she was going to finish what she was saying, so she put her hand up, not even sure if he could see it and just continued on.

"I wanted to apologize for the way that we all treat you. It isn't fair on your part." She said as quickly as the words would come to her mouth. What she did not expect was his reaction to this. Without any warning he burst out in maniacal laughter.

She could see his shaking form as the bursts of mirth overwhelmed him. _'What's so funny?' _She asked herself. Anger and embarrassment began to show their ugly heads. Just what exactly was he laughing at! _'I went out of my way to be nice to him and this is what I get! I take back what I thought earlier, he's just a simple murderous lunatic!'_

"What the hell do you find so funny Nox!"

He quieted his huge fits of laughter to chuckles as he began to speak.

"You really have no clue, do you Zelpher? Still living in a dream? You may be a soldier but you don't even understand what it's like in the real world." His laughing had now come to almost a complete halt and his voice as he spoke was slightly reflective. It was as if he was talking about a subject he knew quite well and he was certain she knew nothing about. This was infuriating.

_**I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge**_

"How dare you! How can you say such things! I think I've been through enough to understand perfectly well what the real world is like!" She began. He was not going to get away with this one, oh no. This was a battle he started, and he better be ready to fight to the death.

"My father died when I was young because of a war that I still don't see the purpose of! I trained all my life to get to where I am today only to be stuck in a mountain with someone like you insulting me like this! I may not be as pessimistic as you Nox, but that's only because I don't want to live my life in misery!" There, let's see him come back at that. She didn't know she had it in her to yell at Albel the Wicked in such a way, but she had done it. And he was still just sitting there. _'Serves him right_.' She thought to herself, very content in her words.

_**The nightmare**_

"Very well Zelpher, live the way you wish." He replied coldly. "But do not expect me to buy into any of your foolish rubbish."

"I never said you had to, but it would do you some good. I don't know how you can stand always being so cold and on guard." The soft tone of her voice surprised even her. Where had her anger gone? Where had the conquest and take over of Albel the Wicked gone? Apparently far away from here.

"Bah...dreams are made to be broken. Remember that Zelpher." He said before completely turning his body from her. _'So that's it.'_ She thought triumphantly. She was now sure that something had happened in Albel's past that caused him to act the way he does today. Oh how she wanted to know, but that could take a very long time to figure out, being that he probably wouldn't exactly embrace the idea of indulging her into his past. But at least there was something now, something that made her understand his cold heartedness. She continued to stare at him, a look of pity on her face.

_**I built my own world to escape**_

Albel was very aware of her eyes still on his back. He was also aware of the expression on her face and was almost positive he knew where her thoughts were at that moment. _'Fool.' _He thought to himself. Others had given him the same gaze at times, and it never ceased to aggravate him.

"Wipe that look off you face or I'll do it for you Zelpher." He said dangerously. She was stunned by his words and immediately stopped herself from looking at him for the moment. There was an intake of breath and he knew exactly what was coming.

"What exactly happened to you in the past?" Nel asked, her voice held concern. _'I can see through your games Crimson Blade. You care not, you are just curious and are looking to satisfy your own needs.' _Many others had done much the same. Needless to say no one besides Woltar knew much of the story, and no one knew everything. That was the way he intended to keep it. There was no need for others to enter into his perfectly stable solitary world.

_**In my field of paper flowers**_

"None of your business fool." _'Ah...so he's getting defensive. That just confirms everything.' _Nel thought to herself. But she wasn't sure if she should push the subject. There was always a chance that she would just make things worse. And she did not want that to happen. They were barely allies to begin with. If things did get worse one of them was likely to come out dead. And though she was confident in her skills, she feared it would be her body that he would lay waste to.

She sighed. It wasn't like she expected him to suddenly become sociable and release his inner most emotions and well kept secrets.

"You're right. I'm sorry I asked." She replied to him. He stiffened at her response, not quite sure what to make of it. Was she really going to drop it? Surely she could do better than that. That was a sad excuse of an attempt to delve into his personal life if he ever saw one. Unless...she actually meant what she said. _'Stop dreaming fool, you know that she's just trying to trick you,'_ he thought to himself, but another part of him begged to differ.

_**And candy clouds of lullaby**_

He remained silent, not quite sure if he wanted to respond to her at all. Sometimes it was better to say nothing, it left things less complicated at times. So he relaxed his tense muscles a bit, but the cold night air quickly caused him to tense again. That conversation must have distracted him from the frigid temperatures. Before he could stop himself he thought of Nel. She was far from used to cold weather while he was accustomed to it and was cold. He gazed upon her, taking in her position. She had settled against the rock wall which he was resting on as well, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms hugging them, obviously trying to conserve body heat. Her head hung forward, red locks spewing across her face. He knew she wasn't asleep, but she was attempting. The cold was keeping her from her desired destination.

There were a lot of confusing things going on in his head right now. All of which were the cause of the red headed warrior's questions and her mere presence. There was a good chance that if they didn't somehow find a way to stay warmer, one if not both of them would end up with hypothermia, and that was never a good thing. His thoughts were interrupted by a clattering noise that didn't stop after a moment, but continued on. He knew exactly where that noise was coming from and looked over to the source.

Nel was shaking uncontrollably and her teeth had began clashing due to her shivers. When she realized the noise she was making, she attempted to stop it, but failed miserably. She then noticed that she was being watched, and those eyes looked like they were ready to start mocking her already.

"Okay, so I'm cold, it's not like you're not." She pointed out his own shivers to him. He was taken aback by her accusation, though he knew it was true. It just didn't have to be said. He never liked being called weak or anything akin to it.

"Are all Aquarians this weak, or are you of an elite bunch?" He shot back. The remark didn't have as much sarcasm in it as he had hoped to portray. He blamed it on the shiver that had overtaken his body as he spoke.

"I don't see the Glyphian among us handling this too well either." Oh, touche. "We need to do something in order to stay warm." She stated. That was what he had thought and what had basically started this whole conversation. He would never be the one to suggest such a thing though.

"As soon as you figure out a way to do so, be my guest Zelpher." His reply was cool and even. There wasn't a way to stay any warmer and he knew it. He was pretty sure she knew it too, but that wouldn't stop her from trying to think up something.

"...Well, we have to do something, whether we like it or not." Her usual voice took over. One of purely business. Oh, he saw where this was going. He never thought she would suggest such a thing. But he was going to avoid it for now.

"Now Zelpher, I would never think of burning you at the stake for a heat source." He said sarcastically. She seemed to not even hear what he had said. Apparently she was focused on something, and he wasn't going to break her concentration right away. Before long she spoke.

"We'll...have to...We'll have to use each other's bodies as heat sources. It's the only way, unless we go with your idea and burn each other to death." She said, the entire time she was looking straight at the ground in front of her, her face set in a stone facade of calm when she was anything but. He had to admit, she did have guts. Not many, actually, none had ever been so blatant as to ask him of such a thing. At least not since a few incidents occurred in his life. He forced those thoughts to the back of his mind and looked over the Aquarian woman who was still shivering like mad.

"Forget it." She said after a few moments. This surprised him. "I doubt you would ever agree to such a thing."

His anger flared up slightly. Already she had just assumed his answer, granted that would have been his verbal answer. Who in their right mind would agree to such a thing! But in truth he understood the need for survival and would have complied silently to the request. _'What a tangled web we weave.'_

He stood up and made his way over to her, catching her off guard with his presence above her. She looked up slightly, squinting to see him. He knelt down next to her, and watched as her eyes never left his. And then he did it.

One hand under her knees, the other behind her back, he scooped her up, earning him a surprised gasp from a flustered Nel. She wasn't fond of being picked up.

"What exactly do you thing you're doing?" That was the only protest that she could force to come to her blue lips.

"We need to keep warm do we not? I'm just following your instructions." Briefly the thought of him burning her for warmth came to her mind, but she knew that was not what he was implying, though what he was implying seemed almost as bad a fate. He moved them back to where he had sat earlier, he considered his spot the most comfortable one available to them in the alcove. He then sat himself down, the speechless Aquarian still in his arms. He then set her down right beside him. _'The rest is up to her. I will not be the only one to make a fool out of myself.'_

She sat tensely next to him, unsure of what she should do. So he had initiated, showing that he accepted the terms. But this still felt weird, if not wrong in itself. But as another shiver wracked her lithe form she made her decision. She scooted as close as she could to the warrior, relishing the heat that his body gave off. Slowly she motioned to put and arm around him and was extremely surprised when he allowed it. Albel's back was against somewhat of a corner of the cave, allowing for her to get extremely close to him without causing him too much discomfort. However she wasn't sure just how close he would allow her to get.

Without warning he grabbed her waist and pulled her halfway into his lap, their bodies pressing together. She was dumbfounded at this point and just sat there.

"Will you sit differently or something, this is rather uncomfortable..."He mumbled lowly. She turned slightly so that her weight wasn't concentrated on just one area but was spread out. She found herself resting her head on his chest, very happy that she was becoming warmer.

_**I lie inside myself for hours**_

They were both silent, unable to sleep as of yet. Both were a little weirded out by the others compliance to such a position, but neither said anything about it. Their own thoughts were the only things to occupy their minds for a while.

_**And watch my purple skies fly over me**_

Nel suddenly felt the urge to talk. She wanted to know more about the man that was underneath her, offering her warmth despite the fact that they were enemies so short a time ago.

"Nox, why do you hate Aquaria?" Okay, so maybe that wasn't the most friendly way to strike up a conversation. She was ready to slap herself in the head when he answered.

"I do not hate your sad excuse for a country." He replied. Odd, she wasn't expecting any response, let alone that one.

"But...how could you not? We were at war. I'm sure many of your men died." Wow, she definitely needed to improve on her conversation skills. No wonder he was antisocial, this was probably the kind of conversation he had to deal with.

"Let's just leave it at I don't hate your country Zelpher." Again she was surprised by his response. He may not have given any more information, but he hadn't insulted her or Aquaria either. Maybe she was getting somewhere. Then she decided that it was unfair to question him alone and offered her own answers to her questions, just from his point of view.

"I guess I don't hate Airygliph either. There's no point in it anymore. I should have realized it long ago." Nel said to him, talking into his chest, her warm breath grazing over his flesh. Much to his own surprise Albel felt a small heat on his cheeks, but quickly denied it to himself.

"War is war, you're not told to think, you are ordered to do." Albel cut in. For some odd reason he didn't want Nel to feel guilty. She turned her head to look up at him, a trace of a smile on her face. He could barely even see it, and she was right in front of him.

"You're right, we've all been through things that we'd rather not recall."

Those few words brought up a certain memory that he was not prepared to face at the moment. Burnt flesh, gut wrenching screams, aching limbs, a dead body...

_**Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming**_

He forced the thoughts down, knowing that there was nothing he could do to change the past. When he looked back down at Nel again, she was looking at him strangely.

"What are you looking at fool?" He inquired

"You, you looked troubled just a second ago." She responded

"I am not troubled maggot, I am perfectly capable of handling my own affairs." His reply was quick.

"Whatever you say Albel the Wicked, but your eyes don't lie nearly as much as you do." Nel replied.

"Don't pry into matters that don't concern you. That's how people get killed." The threat was empty and he knew it, but he did hope that she would take the hint and drop the subject. It was not something he wished to discuss at this time. If it were up to him, it would never be discussed again, but the world didn't seem to like him.

"Whatever it was you were thinking about...I'm sorry. It obviously wasn't something good." Nel was beginning to surprise herself with all the apologizing she was doing. She herself was never fond of doing such a thing, and tonight she had apologized to him several times. Apris truly did have it in for her.

"It doesn't concern you." She hit the nail on the head, it wasn't a good thing. But she had no clue the extensiveness of his past. The reasons he kept himself on guard. Why he seemed to move on his own.

_**Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights**_

"Well, I suppose it doesn't. We should get some sleep, it will be morning soon and I'm sure you'll want to leave as soon as possible." Wow, was she letting him off easy. That was her good deed for the day.

"Go to sleep then Zelpher, I'm unable to sleep at the moment." Albel replied. He was tired, but was not very comfortable with the idea of sleeping at the moment, considering where his thoughts had just been.

"I can't exactly sleep with you still being awake. I'd feel awkward to say the least." She did have a point. He would feel the same if he were in her position. And truth be told, he was quite fatigued and sleep would be a great asset to him. But he was still reluctant.

_**Oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming**_

"If it will get you to shut up..." He replied, relaxing his muscles and taking on the best position he could attain in order to sleep. Happy with the outcome, Nel closed her eyes and replaced her head on his chest. _'I never thought I would be here like this and not wishing death upon myself.' _Nel thought silently. A few life threatening events could change everything. Or maybe it didn't change everything, just showed them for what they really were. Either way she was grateful. Maybe now the hateful scowls and degrading comments would decrease some. But she didn't get her hopes up too much, change is good, but she wasn't hoping for a miracle.

She felt herself becoming more and more drowsy. Her body moving closer to the heat source below her. Her arms wrapped around him right before she fell asleep. Funny, the things that warmth can cause you to do.

Albel peeked open one eye, knowing that she was asleep. This woman was and oddity he had never come across before. She was strong, yet still a female. But at the same time she didn't cower in fear of anything. Sure, she seemed to have her moments of weakness, but she also recovered from them too. That was something he wished he could do just as easily as she did. He reminded himself that what happened in his life was his fault and his fault alone. Dwelling only made things worse.

He found himself wrapping his arms around her waist, as she had done to him earlier. He blamed it on fatigue and his mind failing to think, but he did not remove his arms either. At the very least the Crimson Blade did provide warmth.

_**The goddess of imaginary light**_

She even seemed to spark a small light of hope within him. And when I say small, I mean small. He wasn't one to get his hopes up, and the last thing he was going to do was be disappointed again. But a little hope didn't hurt anyone. _'Scratch that,'_ he thought. Hope was the cause of many deaths if you go right down to it. But he still couldn't help himself.

Tomorrow they would leave, and none of this would be brought up again . Everything would be back to normal. No more strange thoughts of hope or her red hair, or her breathing on his chest or her arms wrapped about him and his around her. No more of that. In a few hours the sun would rise and they would be on their way to fight dragons.

Fatigue finally overwhelmed his body and he found his mind shutting down. No more thoughts came to him and for that he was grateful. He was starting to scare himself with his own train of thought. How foolish he could be at times. His eyes slid shut and his breathing evened out.

The two soldiers lay resting in the quiet of the night, allowing more than just their physical exhaustion to be healed. Each lay in a world of their own dreams, the worlds of their minds choosing.

_**In my field of paper flowers**_

_**And candy clouds of lullaby**_

_**I lie inside myself for hours**_

_**And watch my purple skies fly over me.

* * *

**_

And that's chapter one. Please let me know if you liked it! I need support here! ) 


	2. Tourniquet

I would like to thank those that reviewed. IWUV you. Anyway. I do have to say thank you to my sister. She's been my proof reader and has given me different suggestions here and there. This story wouldn't be happening without her ; )

On a different note,in the first chaper i made a mistake about the mansion thing in Aquaria. As im sure some of you notice, that was supposed to take place Woltars mansion. However, im not going to go back and make the changes right now. I may eventually, but not right now

Any how, ENJOY AND PLEASE REVIEW!

**TOURNIQUET**

At the most you could say they were well into the Mountains of Barr and possibly even about into the Urlsa Lava Caves. That is, if you were an optimist. However, the truth was they were utterly lost in these god forsaken mountains. Nel led the way along with Albel and Fayt. They had decided to be the scouts, facing any monsters should the need arise. She had taken the job mainly because she needed some way to work out her frustrations. Being lost was far from her style, and she had never actually been lost in what she considered dangerous territory. Of course, everyone has their firsts, and apparently this would be her golden opportunity to face the predicament of being lost.

She looked around the unfamiliar landscape. _'Honestly these mountains aren't so bad, I just don't like the dragons_.' Overall the mountains really weren't that bad, it was more the monsters that inhabited them that were a nuisance. The climate was warmer than what she expected of such a high altitude, but she attributed that to the lava caves being near by. _'Where ever those damn things are...' They_ probably generated plenty of heat. Her mind continued to try and occupy itself as her other senses stayed alert in case of an attack. Being caught off guard was a mistake made by the foolish. Her hands were constantly brushing her daggers. It was quite eerie at times how quite enemies could be, especially for their size, always popping out of nowhere. And now was no different.

In a whoosh of purple color Albel had passed her, looking directly ahead. She knew immediately that he was attacking some sort of beast, but she had no clue what or how many there were yet. Quickly, both her and Fayt caught up with him. Two land dragons, one air dragon, one of the harder combinations, but still no match for them. With her trusted daggers drawn she rushed after the land dragon that Fayt was also going to attack. She always thought in better to decrease the number of enemies as quickly as possible, and the best way to do that was to team up with someone. She stabbed at the dragon, as it hit a thought came to her mind. _'I doubt Albel would let anyone team up with him, stubborn egotistical chauvinist.'_ Strange, he did have a way of making his way into her head, even if it only was to anger her.

"Air Slash!" She heard his voice boom. _'As long as we can still hear his voice we know he's still alive.' _Her thoughts were slightly sarcastic, but none the less were true. He would fight until there was nothing left in him, and even then he still did something.

"Blade of Fury!" Fayt cried, lunging his sword at the land dragon that was about to breathe its paralyzing breath all over him. Nel saw her opportunity for a little runology and took it. She gathered herself, and the symbols of her up coming attack appeared in the air in front of her. She reopened her eyes, her attack now ready.

"Ice Needles!" A torrent of ice threw itself at the dragon, still slightly dazed by Fayt's attack. But it wasn't enough to finish it off. She knew it wouldn't be. But they were one step closer. She watched as Fayt charged again at the dragon, he definitely attacked relentlessly. Nel spared a glance over to Albel who was currently fighting both a land and air dragon...and was winning. It did look like he was tiring though, but not enough to cause any alarm yet. She returned her attention to her own little dragon problem. Rushing up to it, she stabbed it, stunning it for enough time for Fayt to hit it, and then she froze the dragon with her Ice Daggers. Fayt then finished it off, giving her a smile. He then looked over toward the fight with Albel and the other two beasts.

"Shall we?" He said to her before he charged toward the action. Before Fayt was able to aid Albel she watched as he was paralyzed by the breath of the vile beast, then the air dragon began to attack him furiously, most definitely injuring the swordsman quite badly. She charged forward, but her progress was impeded by a few falling boulders. Her feet skidded to a stop before the unexpected debris could damage her. This left her blind for the moment. When the few falling rocks did pass she saw that the air dragon was nowhere to be seen and Albel was on his feet, but just barely. He was trying to hide it, but she could see he was not in the greatest of shape. It looked as though Fayt was holding his own against what looked to be the last of the dragons. So she began to cast a healing spell directed at Albel.

As she prepared the spell Albel turned to her. His eyes were full of pure hate; a hate that was so deep rooted it almost frightened her. Had she been any less of a warrior she would have cowered in fear of that gaze, but she forced herself not to. Then, she couldn't believe it, he was charging at her, full speed! The healing spell was almost complete, and she couldn't just stop it now. And now he was going to attack her! _'I can see him not liking runology, but to attack me for it!' _

A noise came from behind her, one she was not expecting in the least, then a tail whipped out to knock her off her feet, her healing spell now failed. _'The air dragon! But I thought...' _The beast opened its mouth, ready to breath its fiery breath down a upon her. She shut her eyes, knowing this would be quite a painful experience and she braced herself.

"AIR SLASH!"

_**I tried to kill the pain**_

When she heard that and felt no pain upon herself she opened her eyes quickly. Albel stood in front of her, injured and apparently extremely pissed. His crimson eyes were wild, she had never seen him quite like this before. He was also charging rapidly at the dragon, his injuries forgotten. The dragon did manage to throw some fire in his direction, but his claw rose to meet it, looking like it blocked most of the onslaught and leaving only minor burns where the flames had touched. It was almost like he was trying to prove something. _'Or maybe he's always this stupid.' _The thought was unexpected as she jumped to her feet. She charged, jumped into the air and struck the air dragon as well. Surprisingly Albel didn't strike her as he too continued to attack. She was also surprised not to hear him oppose her help. Then again, serious injuries do strange things to people.

Nel saw that Fayt had finally defeated the land dragon that Albel had nearly killed before. She was slightly aggravated at how long it took him but didn't say anything. There was no need for controversy and they were currently busy with something else.

All three of them attacked simultaneously, bringing the beast down, effectively killing it.

Nel wiped the sweat from her forehead, glad that was over. She then looked at her comrades. Fayt seemed to be fine. He didn't take on much damage from the fight at all and what damage he had received he was remedying with some blueberries. Albel on the other hand wasn't looking so good. There were many cuts adorning his lean body and he was bleeding quite freely from a gash on his right shoulder, next to his good arm. He seemed unfazed by this though. He almost seemed like he didn't notice. She also noted that the wild look had gone from his eyes, though he still looked rather annoyed and his body was still full of tension. This annoyed her to no end. He had to know he was hurt, even he wasn't that stupid. She walked over to him, no clue what she was going to say in her mind, but still intent on saying something.

"Nox." She said rather loudly when she reached within ten yards of him. This effectively captured his attention and he looked over at her. _'How does he always make me feel like he's looking down on me? It must be some power the devil gave to him.'_

"Zelpher." She could swear he said that in a mocking tone. He apparently thought it was funny to copy the way that she addressed him. He turned away slightly so that he wasn't completely facing her, but his head was still slightly inclined in her direction, meaning that for the moment he was listening. _'How considerate of you to pay attention to me.'_ She thought to herself sarcastically.

"Are you going to treat your wounds or allow yourself to die in the next battle?" Her voice came out coldly, colder than even she expected. _'I'm getting better at this.'_ Her eyes scanned him to see if he would give any motion to use some sort of salve of healing ointment, or anything for that matter, but he just stayed as he was. He even straightened his back some, letting a mirthless smirk come upon his mouth.

"Come now Zelpher, I didn't know you cared."

_**But only brought more**_

Albel spat back at her, turning away from her. He didn't seem to be doing anything. Was he so arrogant as to just stand there and not treat his injuries? She was beginning to wonder about this man's sanity. He clearly wasn't in his right state of mind, that was for sure. _'If this is the way he's always been it's a wonder he's still alive.' _There was no sarcasm in that thought. But there had to be some way he had lived this long unless he was extremely lucky. Right now she was beginning to believe that was the case though. She began the first stages of a healing spell. If he wasn't going to do something about it, then she would. The last thing the group needed was for one of them to collapse from blood loss.

"Use that on me and your life will end here fool." His words stopped her in her tracks. Though he was injured, she did not wish to fight him. She wasn't sure why this was, being that she was confident that in his current state he wouldn't be in his best form and she would be able to defeat him, but she just didn't want to push things at the moment. She left it at that. No analysis necessary. The spell left the air and the words never left her lips to incite it.

"Fine Nox, but don't slow us down. We need to finish up here." If he wanted to let himself bleed to death, fine by her. It wasn't like she cared any way. That was his own choice. Stupid as it may be, he did have a right in deciding what happened to his own body. _'The scent of blood may cause more predators." _She knew that more than likely that would be the scenario. But he still had to go and be stubborn. _'Men.' _She thought dejectedly. How foolish they are.

"Tend to your own wounds weakling. Mine are nothing." He responded. If he was trying to get on her nerves he was most definitely succeeding. His eyes scanned her menacingly as he said this. Her mouth got away from her and she lost the little bit of cool that she had maintained.

"Are you blind Albel Nox! If not then you're stupid! Just how pigheaded can you get!" She screeched at him, earning a satisfied smirk on the Glyphians face. This only served to enrage her more. Fayt looked over at the two, having been startled by the angered pitch of Nel's voice. That was a tone he had never heard before. She certainly was being loud. He wondered slightly how she allowed Albel to anger her so much, but he had no clue and let it sit at that. Approaching the two, he was hoping that his presence would mediate the problem.

"These words coming from a maggot who can not even protect herself from an air dragon for a moment. You say I am stupid? Bah, you are nothing but a fool." It was strange how Albel's voice rarely rose. Even in the heat of an argument he usually seemed fairly cool and calm. This time was no different. Nel barely even registered what he said. Her anger was boiling over right now. And Fayt's presence at the argument wasn't helping. She hated when anyone saw her flustered, that's why she rarely allowed it to happen, at least not in front of others.

Lucky for Fayt, the rest of the group had caught up now. Rodger, Cliff and Maria walked around the bend and noticed the scene. Both were pretty sure that they understood the circumstances, at least enough to the point where they knew that and end had to come soon.

Cliff walked up beside Nel and set a hand on her shoulder, then looked around. Rodger for once stayed silent. Usually he would try to sneak a peek up Nel's skirt, but the redhead didn't seem to be in a very good mood. And that meant a lot of pain if he was caught.

"Looks like you guys did a pretty good job of clearing out these dragons." He said nonchalantly, pretending he couldn't sense the tension in the air. Briefly he registered the almost painful glare of absolute detest that Albel was giving him, but he shrugged that off as well. Acting oblivious was a trait well suited to him at times, and it did come in handy, despite what others thought of his intelligence.

"Yeah, I guess we did. There are a lot of dragons wondering around. I'm surprised we haven't actually found the cave yet." Fayt responded, hoping to get some sort of conversation going. Anything was better than this feeling of awkwardness right now.

"I know what ya mean. Too bad they don't just mark the way to the caves. You know a sign here a sign there. That'd make life a whole lot simpler." Cliff responded. He could feel some of the tension leaving Nel's shoulder from under his hand. Good thing too, he was even starting to feel out of place.

Fayt gave him a weird look then smiled at him for his comment. You could count on Cliff to make a joke at the weirdest of times. He was pretty good at that too. Fayt then looked over to Maria, who had stayed oddly silent and was looking over at Albel. She suddenly took on a look like she was going to speak and he had a feeling that he knew what was going to come out of her mouth. He would give anything to stop those words. He rushed over towards her. His hand outstretched, hoping he would make it in time.

"Albel shouldn't you mfffmphh..." Her words were muffled by a hand over her mouth. Fayt was almost ready to jump for joy as he realized that he had guessed right at her intentions and had stopped the words from escaping her mouth in time. Everything seemed to be returning to as close to normal as this trip had been.

"Bah." The Captain muttered. He then turned in the direction they had been going and continued to move forward. Nel followed soon after, silently. After the two had turned a corner Fayt dropped his hand from Maria's mouth.

"What was that for!" Maria shot out as soon as her mouth was free. It wasn't her style to be out of control of a situation. _'Besides, who does Fayt think he is! I am Quark's leader, I do deserve some respect!'_

"I'm sorry, its just..." Fayt began, not really knowing how to explain everything.

"He realized what you were gonna say and had to stop you." Cliff finished. He came up beside the two smiling.

"Why exactly could I not say what I had intended to say?" Maria asked, still slightly angry.

"Well, call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that what you were going to say has a lot to do with how the argument started. I don't think Fayt here wanted everything to start all over again. So he uhhh improvised." Cliff smiled at his explanation, almost positive he was right. He had a hunch, and those were never wrong!

"Yeah, that's basically what happened. I just didn't want it to come to another argument. Still, I'm sorry." Fayt said to Maria. He like being respectful and felt badly about his rude actions, though they were necessary and called for. Still, rudeness wasn't his way of doing things.

"I see, no need to apologize then, next time warn me." Maria responded, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. "We had better catch up, there's no telling how much more Albel can take, despite what he says."

Fayt and Cliff nodded in agreement. They both saw Albel's condition and knew it was far from okay. He was being stubborn and because of that they needed to catch up. There could be a chance that he might collapse from his neglected injuries, and with the mood Nel was in a moment ago, they doubted that she would rush to his side to aid him.

* * *

_Interesting day. We fall down a giant whole that Fayt supposedly did not see, and then we enter these caves with those damn freezing mermaid things. On top of that, Albel is still being a stubborn ass and has done nothing to aid his injuries.'_ Interesting indeed. But at least it almost seemed as if they were getting somewhere, except for where Albel was concerned. They had found an odd cave where the wind through the dragons' bones sounded eerie. Albel had explained the used of the dragon's windpipe to make flutes. So of course, like normal people, they decided to take the windpipe and see what they could do with it. To her surprise they actually were able to use the thing to create a flute. They had been extremely lucky to find the dilapidated workshop. This flute was supposed to be able to subdue dragons. Hopefully it could come in use and they hadn't wasted their time at the workshop. That would be most aggravating. 

She sighed. Guard duty was very boring at times, though it was of course a necessary burden. The others, saved Albel who she could not see at the moment, were resting on the floors of the cavern they were currently in. Albel had volunteered in a rather demanding way that he be the one to keep watch at night. After an extreme amount of persistence from Fayt he had very reluctantly agreed to sleep half of the nights while someone else kept watch the other half. He had actually been keeping watch for at least half of the night every night since they had left Airygliph to come here. _'That includes that time in the mountains when it was just the two of you.'_ She thought to herself. She hadn't let herself really think about that time, it was a fluke, she was sure of it. He showed no sign of treating her differently than the others, if anything he seemed to try and anger her more. His small amount of kindness then was due to necessity. She doubted she could even consider his actions kind, they were dutiful at most.

_'Speaking of Albel, where is he? He better be at least resting, his injuries are still serious. Chauvinistic ass.'_ She was almost positive he wasn't sleeping and was thus just further exhausting himself. Stubbornness was something she expected of him, but even though it was expected she was surprised that he really was this pigheaded. As silent as humanly possible she rose to her feet. Just because he wasn't sleeping with the group didn't mean he wasn't sleeping. He rarely slept in exactly the same place as everyone else, but he did stay close. His habits were strange.

As she crossed the rather wide area of the caves to a bend she thought of another event from that day. _'He was so angry when he attacked that air dragon earlier. That was the battle that he got injured in. I wonder why he was so angry.' _She thought to herself. Then something came to her. That dragon, it had been after her. He had stopped it from attacking her straight on. The realization surprised her a great deal. And then she had the nerve to yell at him after he did all that to her? She was starting to feel really horrible about herself. _'Stop it Nel, you know he deserved it.' _She told herself firmly. Still, she couldn't help but think about it.

She peaked her head around the corner. Nothing, but she entered the area none the less. It would be foolish of him to sleep completely out in the open and more than likely he would be somewhere in one of the outcroppings of the cave wall. After a few moments of inspection she found him. And to her pleasure, he was actually resting. His body was slumped against the wall on a slightly elevated platform. He looked almost to just be sitting, but his eyes being closed and the rhythm of his breathing guaranteed his sleeping state. For a moment she thought about applying the medical ointments to him while he was vulnerable, but she dismissed that idea. There was a chance he would wake up and would stab her on the spot. That would not be something pleasant, and she avoided it.

Instead she settled for inspecting his face. His mouth was set downwards and he was sweating slightly. _'Odd, it's chilly in here. Why would he be sweating?' _She watched as his expression continued to worsen into something of a grimace. A nightmare? What in the world could frighten him? She had no clue, but she watched as his body jerked suddenly in a movement that meant he was in pain. She moved closer to him, trying to figure out some way to stop whatever it was that was hurting him but not wanting to wake him because he was in need of the healing. _'What exactly am I supposed to do?'_

_**I lay dying**_

* * *

There was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it. His mind was already well en route to the memory. This nightmare always had to run its full course before it stopped. He could not wake himself from the memories, though he did try endlessly before. Now he just succumbed to them, knowing there was not a thing he could do to halt them. Sometimes it was easier to deal with it this way. Other times, it just seemed worse. There was no getting over this. 

He watched his younger self enter the Urlsa Lava Caves. It was his turn to prove himself in the succession. His training had supplied him with much knowledge of the ways of the warrior and the military. However, this task was still one that not many took on, but it was required in order to become a part of the highly regarded dragon brigade. For honor and also to prove himself to his father, he had decided to engage in this treacherous past time. It took everything in him not to scream at his younger counterpart to stop, to turn around and forget this foolish mission. But he had tried that many times before, and still the stubborn boy continued on the path of death.

Regret, as it always did, built up in him. He regretted his foolish pride, his arrogance, his want of honor. They all led to this most foolish event. One that would never leave his mind. The stupid beasts ruined so many things that day, more than they could ever know. More than he himself realized.

_**And I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal**_

The boy wondered blindly into the Lava caves, not knowing exactly what to expect, but having a faint idea. Albel remembered exactly what he had been thinking. In his foolishness he had been thinking about the celebrations to follow his most glorious victory. _'Oh how wrong I was.'_

As the boy wandered about the caves, he searched for a dragon. Before he met one he came upon another beast though, a stone and lava beast. Albel could feel himself start to sweat as his younger self charged upon the enemy. His skills then had not been what they are now, but he was still quite a capable opponent. Relentlessly he charged at the monster, slashing with his sword as hard and as quickly as he could. Even then speed was a strength for him.

_'Save your strength fool!' _Albel screamed in his mind. He knew his thoughts made no difference though, and he still somehow did not open his mouth.

His younger counterpart was having some trouble with the beast. It seemed like he would defeat it, but the toll the thing took on him would be a different story. His eyes scanned the boy as he continued to attack as much as he could. There was no sign of despair or fear in his eyes, only a look of determination. It was quite the site, the small and frail looking boy bringing down the beast. Small cuts, bruises and burns graced his body and it looked as though he was slightly tired, but it was a great victory. But those thoughts were short lived.

"TURN AROUND YOU FOOL!" Albel barked loudly. It was the first time so far that he had actually spoken. However, the boy was deaf to the shouts, and continued resting for a moment. There was no way the beings in this dream could hear him and he knew that, but this, this was ridiculous to him.

Out of the murky darkness of the caves came an air dragon. And it wasn't just any air dragon, it was extremely large and very powerful looking. Not exactly what potential new members of the Dragon Brigade were supposed to face. But the boy still remained oblivious to the presence of danger as he shoved some blueberries in his mouth in an effort to regain his lost strength. Without warning the dragon's tail came out and whisked the boy's feet out from under him, letting out a loud growl at the same time. _'No not again.' _

Young Albel was now pulling himself up from the jagged and heated ground of the cave. He hadn't been able to heal himself as much as he would have would have liked to. At the moment he was quite vulnerable to attack.

"MOVE! DO SOMETHING WORM!" Albel again screamed at him. He could see every cut that adorned his younger self's body. He could feel them too. Each one a prickle of pain. There was a doubt in the boy's mind, he could feel that too. He could feel everything. The fear, the pride, the determination, the hope, it was all there. But these feelings only led him to get even more angry.

The figure before him righted himself the beast swiped a huge claw at him, catching the center of his back and ripping through the armor that he did wear. Crimson rivulets began to leak out of the newly formed gashes. They were deep, he could feel them. He still bore those scars along with many others. The boy screamed out in pain and again fell to the floor of the cavern. But he was still moving, doing what he could. Albel watched as the his young self made a successful attempt at taking in some blueberries. _'It's no use...its no use.' _Just before the dragon had a chance to swipe again the boy rolled out of the way. His breath was coming roughly now, the gashes on his back throbbing painfully. Still Albel watched as the he rose, ignoring the crippling pain in his back. The boy drew his sword, and charged directly at the monstrous beast, striking it in its large belly. The dragon gave a small scream, causing a smirk to rise on the boy's face.

_'No...get away now fool. You don't stand a chance.'_ Albel's words remained as thoughts again as he coped with the pain. This was far from the worst part and he knew it. The air dragon made sure he would suffer.

Again the boy was charging full speed, but was caught by the tail of the dragon and halted. The huge muscle threw him back against a wall, eliciting a scream from the boy. He was now barely able to move, the gashes in his back had been ripped open even further. But the boy refused to give up. Again he pulled himself up, but this time only into a crouching position.

_**I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming**_

Again the dragon brought its mightily claw back to strike. As it struck the ground rocks flew up everywhere. The cave even seemed to fear this beast. Once the debris cleared Albel again remembered this. The boy, he had rolled just to the side of where the dragon had just struck. There were rocks and dirt covering his form, but again he rose.

"JUST STAY DOWN FOOL!" Albel heard himself scream out again. If he had just stayed down, maybe...

His younger counterpart was on his feet again, slouching, but his grip was still tight on the sword in his hands. He still believed he could defeat the beast. Again he charged with all his might at the beast. He managed to lunge his blade into the chest of the dragon. A sound of pure rage and pain came from the beast as it reared back from the boy. By luck he was able to pull the sword out before it was taken with the dragon. But just because the dragon was injured did not mean anything was finished. Within the same moment the dragon had moved in for and attack, pushing its immense head toward the warrior who dared challenge him. The boy moved as quickly as he could backward into a small opening, one the dragon's head could not fit in. Physics didn't stop the dragon, it pushed roughly against the enclosure, its teeth barred right in front of his prey.

The boy pulled back his sword, readjusted his grip, and slammed the sword forward, right into the eye of the monster. This time when the dragon pulled back, it took his sword with him despite the boy's best effort to pull the sword back out. However, the dragon's reaction to the new injury allowed the boy enough time to escape the small enclosure. But without a sword he was losing faith in this battle. He was beginning to consider the option of retreating, but he realized his exit was currently blocked by a certain obstacle. There was no choice in the matter, he would have to go through his enemy.

Without a second thought he jumped out into the most open space available to him, grabbed a rock and threw it at the monster. This effectively caught his attention, and there was now no way that the dragon was just going to let him go.

_**Am I too lost to be saved**_

The sword was still protruding from the dragon's now closed and swollen eye. The boy eyed it, a plan forming in his mind as he ran towards the dragon. If there was any way he was going to make it out of here, that sword was required to be in his hands. The dragon had other ideas. It batted its tail at the nuisance, and brought a claw down in the area that his tail had just swiped. Somehow the boy managed to jump out of the oncoming tail's way, but was unable to completely dodge the claw completely. The chest plate of his armor was now destroyed and he was bleeding there too. But it was then he saw his chance. In a flash he was in the air, and had jumped past the head of the dragon, ripping his sword from the beast's appendage.

He landed on the other side of the dragon and staggered down to his knees. His injuries were catching up to him, his vision was now cloudy. Small black spots were appearing before his eyes periodically and despite continuous attempts to clear them by blinking, they did not fade. Another growl from the dragon along with footsteps caused the boy to pull himself to a standing position again. The beast was infuriated and, despite the two very deep stab wounds, was still in comparatively good shape.

Albel's younger self decided it best to run towards the entrance, should he need immediate aid once he finished this damn beast off. So, moving as quickly as his wounded body could, he sprinted back through the winding caves. Several monsters had tried to impede his way, but when they saw what was chasing him, they fled the area, allowing him to continue forward. When he slid through the final bend into the main room he fell. His body was exhausted and needed a break, something he did not have time for as the dragons huge footsteps closed in on him. He pushed himself from the floor that was now stained with his blood. His arms nearly gave out from the weight of his body. Still he was upright once again.

"YOU WEAK MAGGOT, JUST LEAVE!" Albel had finally come back to himself again and was screaming at the boy. This time his voice was higher than the last, and he was trying to lunge toward the boy, but his body was held in place by something akin to shackles. There was absolutely nothing he could do to help the boy. It was out of his hands.

_**Am I too lost**_

The boy charged at the dragon, his sword aimed at its heart. Unfortunately he was met with a downward swipe of the beast's claw. His sword flew from his hands, his wrist twisting painfully with the unexpected onslaught. After a moment the dragon drew back its head, then opened its huge mouth, a sea of fire emerging from it. The boy's eyes widened as this happened and he drew up his shield as quickly as he could.

Luckily the shield had diverted most of the flame, but the places where he was gripping the shield were searing hot and were melting the flesh that it touched. For now the boy ignored this, only giving a small hiss of pain. He knew that there was a chance the dragon would do the same thing again. Before the smoke cleared the dragon's tail came out and smacked along his midriff, sending him again to his rear.

Then the dragon reared back again, pushed its head forward and opened its giant mouth. Another wave of flames rained down upon him. He held up his shield knowing that it would not be enough, but he had to try something. The flames engulfed his arm, burning his flesh beyond repair. The boy let out a scream of pain. He couldn't help it, there was no way he could have suppressed it even though he desperately wanted to.

Albel himself shook at the sound. That scream had been of pain, but also cause more.

Suddenly, a man entered the cave, and watched what was happening. His eyes too widened at the size of the dragon, just as his son's had when he set his sights upon him. But it made no difference to the man. He charged over toward the beast, his own blade in hand. The boy had not noticed him until the dragon stopped with its breath, apparently more interested in something else. He watched speechlessly as his father engaged his burden. He couldn't allow this to happen. There was no way he was going to disgrace his father by not completing his task.

"NO, FATHER!" The boy yelled to him, but he paid no mind. Albel himself had yelled the same thing at the same exact time.

_**My god, my tourniquet**_

The boy watched as his father continued to joust with the huge dragon. He had now taken on a few injuries himself, but it was nothing that serious. The young Albel looked around him for something that could help, namely his sword. He spotted it a small distance from where the current fight was happening. With much difficulty he managed to get himself off the ground, his burnt arm throbbing violently in protest. What he hadn't realized is that his movements had distracted his father, causing him to be caught off guard by the dragon's claws.

However, the boy by now had his sword, and after seeing his father on the ground, he ran towards the dragon that was approaching his downed parent. He plunged the blade as deeply as he could into the dragon's side. His many injuries screamed in protest at his actions, but there was no way this beast was going to kill his father. He wrenched the blade back out, nearly falling backwards from his own wooziness as he did so. His father was back on his feet and was now taking something out of his pocket. The boy did not have time to pay attention though, for the dragon was again focused on him. Its beady yellow eyes locked with his own crimson ones. It seemed it could now open both eyes despite the injury it was earlier dealt.

Still young Albel drove his blade at the dragon's chest. It successfully made contact, but at that movement he saw out of the corner of his eye caused him to jump back, abandoning his sword in the beast's chest. Just as he moved a claw came down on the place he was just standing. Surely that would have been the killing blow. He found himself on his butt again, it was the only way he could land and he did not have the strength in him to bolt to his feet again.

The dragon came upon him.

"No..." Albel said out loud. Each injury was taking its toll on his body too, he could feel everything.

Again the mighty mouth was opening, but this time the boy knew that the shield that he had with him would do almost nothing. He would be reduced to ashes. But there was a sudden movement.

"No..." Albel repeated again, his hands coming to his head. Some unknown force kept his head glued to the spot and his eyes open despite his effort to try and close them or turn away.

The beast let out a torrent of fire, but a shadow loomed over the boy.

"No father!" The young Albel cried out. His father looked down upon him, that look forever haunted him.

"Albel, my son, you must survive!" He ground out painfully as the flames licked at the skin of his back. The boy looked up at his father, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "No father, you can't! STOP!"

_**Return to me salvation**_

"NO!" Albel cried out.

The wounds, each one was aching, hurting all anew. The burns were fresh and unforgiving, marring his skin. His father's form was hovering above his own in its saving grace. His throat felt tight, his chest was constricting. Everything was moving slower now. Everything. He watched as the boy cried out again. His father meant everything to him, especially since his mother had past away in the last year. But the boy's cries were unanswered. They were met only with more flames.

Before he could witness his father's death something shook him. Something from outside of his body. Albel found himself thanking the thing, whatever it was, with all of his being.

_**My god my tourniquet**_

Green eyes stared back at him as his crimson one's shot open quickly, his breath coming in gasps. Her hand was still on his shoulder, where she had shook him to wake him up. When she heard him cry out she knew it would be best that she woke him.

She moved back as he brought his body off the stone of the wall. She also withdrew her hand from his shoulder but continued to stare at him, not sure what could have caused this to happen to him. He put his good hand to his head, as if to clear his mind of the memories of the nightmare. How she wanted to ask what it was about, but she also did not want to bring up what was obviously painful to him.

After a few moments he still hadn't let his hand drop from his head and she came close to him again, almost worried that something might be wrong with him. _'I'm not worried...I just have to make sure he's not dying. The others would blame me if he died on my watch.' _She told herself. She was surprised when he didn't at least acknowledge her presence or proximity. Her eyes scanned his body. It didn't seem like his injuries had recovered at all from the amount of sleep he had gotten. Without another thought she began to cast a healing spell. _'This is getting fixed right now whether he likes it or not.'_

Her fingers touched the side of his body where the wound was, instantly healing it along with the other scratches and cuts that were adorning him.

_**Return to me Salvation**_

The contact seemed to bring him out of whatever state he was in. His hand dropped from his head, revealing his eyes. His ragged breathing was now calm.

He looked directly at her. She jumped back. The look in his eyes was frightening. His crimson eyes, they were full of something. Hate? Anger? There were many different things swirling in those pools of rouge. it wasn't that his eyes were holding any kind of threat or malice towards her, none more than usual anyway, it was just that she had never seen him like this. He was still silent. Usually be now some sort of insult would have been thrown her way. _'That must have been some nightmare to leave him silent.'_ Again she wanted to ask what exactly his dream was about, but she wasn't going to let her curiosity get the better of her.

"What are you staring at fool?" The voice caused her to regain her head. She blinked a few times then tore her eyes away from Albel's. She almost thought she could feel heat on her cheeks, but there was no way that was possible.

"Excuse me for breathing." Nel replied sarcastically. It seemed as though there wasn't anything wrong after all. He already insulted her, everything was back to normal then. _'I shouldn't have even bothered worrying...no wait, who said I was worried? I'm only here because if anything happened to him then Fayt would be angry, which would displeasure Her Majesty.' _That was it. Exactly, nothing more. As these thoughts passed through her head she was unconsciously waiting for a response from Albel. It was only when he moved passed her that she realized he had gone silent again.

His slim form slid past her and he made his way off the elevated area that he had been sleeping on, not looking back at all. Nel kept her eyes trained on him, wondering where exactly he was going to go. His shift was coming up in an hour or so and he better not be thinking about making her pull an all nighter. Though he might not need it, Nel loved her sleep.

"Don't even think about skipping your watch tonight." She said to his back. He stopped for a moment and let out a sound that sounded somewhat like his familiar "Bah" then continued walking without turning around. Nel had been expecting a little more of a retaliation than that, but sometimes he could be like that. His form disappeared around the corner into the cavern where everyone else was still sleeping. After a few moments she moved off the platform to follow him. _'I'm not following him, I'm just going back to where  
I was.'_

She reentered the area and glanced about. Everyone still appeared to be dozing rather peacefully. Everyone except a certain Glyphian. Despite several glances around she couldn't see him anywhere inside. She sighed. Tonight was certainly turning out to be a lot more interesting than she had planned. There weren't very many places for them to go and she wasn't sure why, but she had an urge to seek him out. Strange as it may be, she followed this urge and, with a final glance around to make sure that everyone would be okay without her watch, she began walking down one of the paths.

* * *

He slipped himself out from behind the drenching streams of the waterfall letting as little moisture graze him as was possible. _'Those stupid caves annoy me to no end.'_ He thought to himself. Luckily there weren't any monsters in the immediate area. That would at least allow him to be at ease for what little time he did have left before he had to take up his duty of watching over the maggots. 

_'She probably thinks I'm going to make her pull double duty. I should, the fool. She had no right coming near me.' _Stupid thought. He instantly remembered the dream he had. A sour look came upon his face, even in waking those memories were quite disturbing. He grunted then shook his head. Only a fool dwells upon what they cannot change. And Albel Nox was no fool, or so he told himself. So instead of spending his time in his mind, he brought his gaze upwards, looking towards the heavens.

What he couldn't understand was why so many people worshiped the skies. As far as he could see there was nothing special about them. They were dark at night, and sometimes during the day. They were what caused the people of Airygliph to starve in times of poor weather. And in times of 'good weather' things were almost no different. However there was one thing that fascinated him about the skies, and that was the stars.

He found it odd how something so small could stand out so brightly in a sea of black. Many people inquired about what exactly those things were, but he could care less. If it was necessary for him to know what they were, eventually the time would come and someone would inform him. At least, that's how he looked at it. It wasn't that he found asking questions to be a stupid practice, but at the same time it might be more to your benefit to feign knowledge about a subject.

_'Whatever.' _He thought dismally. These moods were weird for him and he despised them. They made him look at things from odd perspectives and see things in a different light. Often a light that he would rather not have come across. Things like, _how would your father have done this _or _he would have never done that_ came to his mind. But again there was no way to change things that had already transpired. That is why he hated these moods, something inside him insisted that things still could be changed.

"Fool." He said aloud. His crimson orbs were still glued to the stars, one in particular. Something about it must have caught his eye, but there didn't seem to be anything special about it.

_**Do you remember me**_

It was a question he often asked the sky when he stopped to observe it. That wasn't all that often, but it did happen from time to time. His mind drifted back. There was a time that Woltar had tried to explain why his father had jumped in during the Accession of the Flame.

.:Flashback:.

_"What are you doing out here boy?" _

_For some reason he had decided to go outside. He wasn't really quite sure why, he just couldn't stand being indoors for the moment and his mind was on certain recent events. But there was no way that he would tell the old man that. None at all. _

_"Leave me alone old man." There was no need for respect. It wasn't like there was anyone around to chastise him any more. He looked over at the old man through his shaggy bangs wondering what exactly his reaction would be._

_"Learn some respect boy. Your father wouldn't want you to behave like a barbarian."_

_"You have no clue what my father would want. He's dead fool." Every word was dripping with absolute hate, and it was clear that his control was being tested. No one mentioned his father, he had heard to many statements about what a 'great man' he was and how 'he truly was a hero.' He truly was a fool. _

_"That may be so but you cannot live like this forever. Your father saved you for a reason." Woltar responded. Quickly Albel turned on him, a scowl smeared across his young features, his muscles tense. _

_"He saved me, someone who should have failed the test and been left to burn. He was a fool!" His eyes dared Woltar to argue against him. He was so confident that he already had this dispute won. _

_"With that attitude it's a wonder why he did save you, boy. But listen to me now, and listen well boy." He took a small pause, inhaling deeply and shutting his eyes for a moment. When he reopened them he looked towards the stars._

_"He saved you because he loved you." Albel opened his mouth to protest, but Woltar continued. _

_"I know you've heard that, but think about it. You were his son. And even if you don't think it, he believed you were destined for great things." Woltar then stopped and turned to look at Albel. He wasn't looking down upon him though, he looked at him as something of an equal. This action confused the young Albel, but he didn't care. _

_"Just another reason he was a fool." Albel muttered then turned away from the old man. _

_"I hope you don't feel that way forever boy. Then your father's sacrifice would have been a waste." Those were the last words the old man said before he reentered his large mansion. _

.:End Flashback:.

Albel pulled himself from his thoughts. _'Foolish old coot.'_ Woltar knew how to manipulate people, that was probably what he was trying to do when he had spoken those words. At least, that's what he believed. The old man was quite a card. Still, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about what Woltar had said.

_**Lost for so long**_

_'Maybe this journey now is what my life is supposed to lead to...Foolish nonsense. Only the weak believe in a predetermined fate.' _Religion was something he couldn't bring himself to accept, and so was the idea of destinies.

Briefly he realized just about what time it was. It would soon be time for him to take over that irritating job of guarding camp. He smirked to himself. Zelpher was probably just about ready to kill him because he had left camp without saying anything and possibly leaving her to take the full night. _'There' something so amusing in pissing her off.' _He quieted his thoughts once again, this time determined to clear his mind.

Almost instantly his ears picked up a noise that he hadn't noticed before. Someone was with him, and they were breathing, Albel realized with disdain. He didn't move at all. The last thing he wanted to do at this moment was to let whoever it was know that he knew they were there. No, he had a much more subtle and refined way of doing things. _'Let's play.' _

He began to walk further away from the cave and the waterfall that hid it from sight. There was no doubt in his mind that whoever it was would follow him. At least, that was what he was hoping for. No particular destination came to mind, all he needed was a certain type of area. As he rounded a bend he found what he was looking for. _'Oh yes, this is going to be fun.'_

* * *

When he had started to move away from the entrance she knew something was up. Her instincts told her that there was something amiss. But she couldn't help herself. With a last look back into the caves, she left, trailing behind him far enough so that he shouldn't be able to hear her movements. Her steps were calculated and she stayed in a low crouched position, just in case he did happen to get suspicious. 

She watched as he disappeared around a corner and she slowly inched her way up to it. For some reason she was very weary about turning this corner. _'Please don't say I'm getting a hunch...I'm killing Cliff.' _With that thought she moved herself around the corner, very surprised at what she did find.

_**Will you be on the other side**_

At her throat, she could feel the cool blade just touching her neck, not enough pressure to cause an incision, but still, this was not a favorable position. Her daggers were limply hanging in her hands. She had just enough time to draw them but not enough to actually divert the attack. Her heart was racing. Never had she been caught in such a vulnerable position. The one that held her captive was currently behind her. He had used one of the oldest tactics in the book. He simply jumped down from an elevated area on the corner to come up behind her.

"So, you're the maggot that's been following me." His voice was amuse. Oh how she wanted to throttle him right now. The only problem was, she couldn't even find her voice to speak. It was hard enough to suppress the shakes that were threatening to overtake her body.

"My you're silent Zelpher. Care to explain why you've been watching me?" His blade was still firmly pressed to her throat. She was almost afraid to talk in fear of moving too much and cutting herself. But she couldn't take his tone. Who did he think he was talking down to her!

"Drop your blade now Nox or I swear I will..." She was cut off.

"I don't think you are in any position to make demands fool. Now, answer the question." With that he came up more closely behind her, his body now extremely close to touching hers. The blade that was at her throat seemed to come closer, if that were at all possible.

"I..." She paused. That damn sword was having quite an effect on her. No matter how she tried to hid it, she was afraid of being cut down right here. She tried to back away slightly but found herself slamming into Albel's chest. However, he didn't move the blade any closer, it wasn't like she was all that far away from it anyway. She took a deep breath and readied herself to give some sort of explanation.

"I saw you leave the cavern after I woke you." Nel hoped that little explanation might suffice, but she knew it wouldn't and he was quick to shoot it down.

"Keep going Zelpher, that was a sad attempt." Albel replied. He was going to let her off the hook easy, that much was now obvious. Nel closed her eyes. What exactly was she supposed to say to him? Why did she follow him? She couldn't even answer those questions for herself, how could she answer them for him? But this was quite an uncomfortable position. There had to be something she could say. Anything would help right about now.

"You shouldn't leave camp without telling one of the others."

"You saw me leave, that's enough, is it not?" Albel replied. _'Shit. Now what the hell am I supposed to say? I could just keep arguing this point. There's a chance that I can still get myself out of this.' _

"And how was I supposed to know where you were going or if you weren't just going to desert us?" She said coolly to him.

"You maggots know I can do no such thing. I have orders fool." He replied and began to press the blade closer to Nel's neck again. He brought his head down next to her ear and whispered into it. "Strike two, next one and I lop your head off. So try and make it good Zelpher."

She forced herself to take a breath to calm both her anger and her nerves.

"Why should anyone need a reason to follow you? You're the one that won't tend to your own wounds! You're so irresponsible it's pathetic!" Too bad that calming breath didn't work. She shut her mouth. Insulting your captor wasn't the greatest way to try and escape. She had a feeling that pain would be a problem in her very near future.

"Don't tell me you were worried Zelpher." He nearly spat the words out of his mouth as if they were incredulous to him.

"Slime." Nel replied without thinking. He shoved her away from her roughly, moving his blade just in time to avoid her moonlit skin. In an instant his sword was sheathed and he was turning the corner again to head back in the direction they had come.

_**Or will you forget me**_

Nel picked herself up off of the cold rocky ground, grabbing her daggers which she had dropped when he pushed her. Her mind was swimming right now. On one hand she couldn't believe that she had actually gotten out of that predicament with her head still in place. However, on the other hand she felt guilty. Albel seemed pissed when he mentioned the thought of her worrying about him. His face had taken on the same look as when he was looking at the stars at one point. He seemed quite bitter.

She placed her daggers back in their respective places on her waste, then began to follow in his footsteps back to the caves and the cavern they had been staying in. But she still couldn't get her mind off certain little details. The look on his face before she had woken him was one of them. Another was how he just went outside and looked at the stars. She might not know him that well but he definitely didn't strike her as the type to go stargazing .

'_Maybe there really is something wrong with him.' _

**_I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming_**

As she reentered the caves she forced herself not to think about it. Albel Nox wasn't worth the time or head aches entailed with deep thought. The war between their countries may be over, but there were some things that she didn't think would ever change. Whether she was supposed to or not she still though of the Wicked One as an enemy and enemies didn't deserve her contemplation. That was what she had always told herself. There was no point in changing her philosophies now.

She was only partially shocked to see the object of her contemplations leaning against the wall next to the entrance of the cavern where everyone was sleeping. He made no move to acknowledge her presence and for some reason that bothered her. _'Arrogant jerk.' _Was he really that angry at her for following him? _'Well, two can play at this game,' _she thought.

_**Am I too lost to be saved**_

With her lips sealed she sat down right across from him, staring directly at him but making a point to look away but at him whenever he lifted his head or seemed to turn in her direction. This little game continued for the better part of an hour until finally one of the two geniuses decided to say something.

"Don't you need to sleep Zelpher?" Albel questioned, it almost seemed as though he was talking to the rock beside him rather than to her. He was staring at it rather intently.

Nel looked over at him. She just remembered how tired he was now that he had said something about it. Strange how things like that could slip your mind in the heat of a battle. She wanted to say something in response but found that there was nothing for her to say. There was absolutely no reason for her to stop and start this little game but she did. And on top of that she had no clue why she did. Plus she didn't want to actually tell Albel that she was tired. Somehow he would use that information against her, she knew it.

_**Am I too lost**_

But somehow she felt she owed him some sort of response. And a response he would get.

"Aren't you lacking in rest as well?" She asked. It was a rhetorical question but she was sure he would respond. And she was right.

"I wouldn't be if someone hadn't disturbed me." Albel replied, still staring at that poor innocent rock. He was glaring daggers at that thing and even if rocks weren't alive his gaze had to be painful. But those words struck a nerve with her. She didn't allow her voice to rise for fear of waking the others, but she did speak a piece of her mind.

"Next time I'll let you enjoy your nightmare Nox. And I'll make sure to let you bleed to death." Nel replied, her voice low and dangerous. She was staring directly at him now and was awaiting the confrontation that was sure to come.

"There wouldn't have been any wounds if you knew how to fight fool." He replied, he still hadn't turned to look at her and that was beginning to piss her off. Did he have no respect? Or was he always this chauvinistic? It didn't matter, no one insulted her fighting skills. She was a Crimson Blade after all.

"If I recall correctly _you_ were the one trying to take on two dragons at once." Each word was laced with deadly venom.

"And you were the fool who couldn't even protect herself from an air dragon." He finally brought his gaze directly upon her, what she had been trying to get him to do for probably an hour now. But the honesty of that statement stung her and she remembered just how he had come in between her and the dragon. The movements that he had to perform probably did tear his wounds open further than what they would have been had he not had to jump in. _'In a sense he saved me...'_

_**My God my tourniquet**_

_**Return to me salvation**_

Now she was faced with a decision. A part of her was saying that he still owed her an apology. There was no way that he wanted to stay in that nightmare and she had done the right thing in waking her up. The other part of her was telling her to at least show some gratitude for what he had done earlier. In a sense, both sides won out.

"You're right. It caught me off guard." She said, her voice lighter, almost reflective. The change in her demeanor surprised Albel, she could see it in his crimson eyes. But she wasn't done yet. There was a little more to be said, on his part to, and she was going to make him spit something out.

"But don't you think you should have at least let me heal your wounds without threatening to kill me?" She asked sarcastically, yet keeping her voice in a bouncy tone.

"I didn't need to be healed." Albel shot back, though it didn't sound like he was all that angry.

"Right, just like you would have preferred to stay in that nightmare than to have been woken up." Nel smiled to herself. There wasn't any smart response to that and she knew it. And by the look on Albel's face, he knew it as well. _'Score: Nel 1 The Wicked 0. Ah it feels good to be the best.'_

_**My God my tourniquet**_

_**Return to me salvation**_

"So you decided to become my private stalker? How flattering Zelpher."

'_Damn it! How does he always come up with something to say! It's so frustrating! Right when you think you've got him too. Score: Nel 1 The Wicked 1. Lucky shot.'_ She took a few moments to try and come up with something to counter with, but her brain was foggy from lack of sleep. Her fatigue was wearing on her and this conversation, if you could call it that, wasn't helping.

"Next time I'll be sure not to worry." As she said this she closed her eyes stood up and gave her body a light stretch. She missed the look that passed over Albel's face at her words. When she reopened her eyes she looked into the area where the others were sleeping. That was looking like a great idea right about now. Without further ado she began to walk towards her things laying near a corner in the room.

"Where do you think you're going Zelpher?" Albel asked before she got too far into the cavern.

"I'm going to leave you alone and get some sleep. Not going to lob my head off for that, are you Nox?" She asked him but didn't wait for a reply. She continued over to her corner and unrolled her sleeping things from her pack. It was on instinct that she always traveled lightly and before long she was settled on the cave floor awaiting the goddess of dreams to come to her and take her away.

Albel just sat there on guard duty. He did take to sharpening his sword for a little while in preparation for tomorrow. It would probably me the day when they met the Marquis and it wasn't something he was looking forward to. Dragons were scum.

_**I want to die**_

* * *

Funny how he had been right. It had been the very next day they had found Crossel and recruited him against his will. And what a battle that was. The beast was huge. But he was quite effective for what they did need him for. Aquaria's runological weapon had been mounted on him with ease. And before he knew it they were in the skies fighting the celestial ships and 'saving the planet.' 

Then it was supposed to be time for goodbyes. That's when he left. Those things were never his style and he considered them a waste of time. Besides who was there to say goodbye to? The blonde oaf? His hunches got on Albel's last nerve. That Maria wench? Her commanding attitude was enough to make him not think twice. And that naive boy Fayt, there was nothing to say goodbye to there. But somehow he didn't feel bitter towards any of them. They had all, to some extent, shown their usefulness and strength. _'What about Zelpher? You never did come up with a reason for not saying goodbye to her.' 'She's an Aquarian wench, that's reason enough.'_

_**My God my tourniquet**_

_**Return to me Salvation**_

He reached Peterny by midday and only stopped to grab something to eat on the way. He was then in route to Arias. By his estimations he should be able to reach the riverfront village right around nightfall. Despite his dislike of the place it would be in his best interest to stay the night there. Then he could head to Kirlsa and check in with the old man before heading back to Airygliph and reporting to the king. His mind wandered as he made his way across the bridge leading into the war torn village. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay at the Lasbard mansion now that he no longer had any real allegiance with the Aquarian forces, but the Inn would suffice.

He was more exhausted than he thought he should be by the time he did actually get a room and settle into it. It had been quite a fight to actually attain a room because of who he was, Albel the Wicked. Fortunately for him the Lasbard girl had come in for something and had demanded that they allow him to stay there. To him it really made no difference, if necessary he would just have kept going and rested in Kirlsa tomorrow. But he was slightly grateful to the woman, though he made no move to show it.

Night crept in and darkness consumed the small town. It wasn't long until everyone was asleep.

* * *

These hills were nothing but a nuisance. They were occupied with hardly any monsters but were swarming with Glyphian soldiers. Thus he had no entertainment as he passed through the area that morning. An occasional soldier would address him with the usual "Glad to see you're back sir," or "Welcome back captain." It all meant nothing to him. He was feeling oddly empty right now and so he was irritable, more so than usual. 

'_The mining town of Kirlsa. Home of that old man's nagging.' _Albel thought to himself. For some reason he wasn't quite up to conversing with the old man about how everything had turned out with Aquaria. _'I need a little training first I think. Nothing like a few deaths to get the blood flowing.' _With that he directed himself towards the Granah Hills, the area that contained the training facility. There were always a few monsters lingering there. And probably a few inside as well.

* * *

Of course, as usual he had been right. There were monsters roaming all over the place, inside and out. They weren't really a challenge, but they did provide him with something other than thought to occupy his mind. But here he was again, thinking. At times he almost wished himself incapable of such a thing. 

However, his thoughts were interrupted by a strange noise. He was on the roof and he quickly leapt up onto one of the ledges and concealed himself behind a pillar. The spy business was something he did miss at times. It could be quite interesting finding out things that would destroy and opponent.

He watched as some beings, apparently humans, appeared before him out of what looked to be thin air. He forced himself to remain silent despite his disbelief at what he was witnessing. From what he could tell these humans didn't seem to have any interest in moving out. They were just standing where they were as if they were waiting for something. _'What the hell could they be waiting for?'_

As if on cue more beings started to appear. Most of these he recognized. But what were they doing back here? Didn't they say their business was done on this planet? Albel found himself compelled to move closer. There was a need for him to know what was happening. Silently he crept towards the rear of the first party that had appeared while he kept his eyes on his former comrades. They didn't seem all that at ease.

That's when he noticed something he couldn't see from his prior position. These humans had hostages that were apparently valuable to Fayt and his group. _'But why come here?' _There were a lot of things that weren't making that much sense to him right now. Especially that odd machine that had come out of the air with the oddly dressed group. Albel looked at Fayt to see if he had any reaction to the machine, but apparently he hadn't really noticed it yet. So he then looked at the rest of the group. Maria had seemed to take quite an interest in the machine and wasn't looking too happy.

'_I guess I could do them a favor. This could turn out to be interesting.'_ With that he stormed out of hiding, sprinting toward the machine. He brought his sword down upon the metal heap powerfully from numerous different angles and, as far as he could tell, rendered it useless. Then he dashed out of the surrounding enemies and towards Fayt's group. What he didn't expect was the blow that he received with no one in range of him. Nor did he understand the searing pain in his shoulder that seemed to be eating at his flesh.

_**My god my tourniquet**_

_**Return to me salvation**_

He almost expected Zelpher to come up and yell at him while she cast a healing spell. But no such luck came his way. Fayt and the others quickly pooled around him. Their words were fuzzy, as were his own. He couldn't understand how a single shot had taken him down. The idea was utterly ridiculous!

But there wasn't any stopping it. His eyelids were forcing themselves shut and he didn't have the energy to keep them open. _'This can't be the end. I won't let it be.'_

_**My wounds cry for the grave**_

He was out cold in moments.

* * *

When his eyes reopened he was met with a completely unfamiliar surroundings. '_Walls of metal? What the hell are all these things attached to me?' _He thought as he looked down at his arm. A few lines of something were running from some propped up bag and into his skin via an incision in his arm. Instead of just ripping them out right away he sat up. For all he knew they could be some sort of device that would trigger something he didn't want to happen when removed. 

The action of sitting up was only slightly painful. He looked over to his now bandaged shoulder. It still hurt more than he would have liked. He was firmly considering chopping the offending area of his body off when a voice came to him.

"So, you're awake. Good. That boy would be even more of a mess if you were to die too." It was a woman's voice, a woman he did not know. He looked over to the owner of said voice. She was wearing some white outfit over what looked to be common clothes among Fayt's type of people.

"Where am I maggot?"

"Quite the socialist aren't we? You're on the Quark ship Diplo. We had to treat your wound from the Vendeeni rifle." She explained this all while coming over to him and, without hesitating at touching him, pulling the lines from his arm. He was both angered and surprised at the audacity of the woman to touch him without his permission. _'I'll have to kill her some time.'_

_**My soul cries for deliverance**_

"I'll go get the others. They will be quite happy with your progress.." With that she left the room through an odd sliding door mechanism that shut immediately after she departed. Things were getting more and more confusing by the second.

He swung his feet out from under the white sheets they had been in and brought them to hang over the side of the bed, his feet touching the ground. At the very least his strength had returned. The only problem now was figuring out what was going on. Something told him he wouldn't really understand much of what he was told though. Apparently Cliff's hunches had worn on him as well.

Standing, he experimentally stretched his limbs. The only pain he had came from his shoulder. That was a good sign, or at least as good of a sign as he had gotten so far. He began to walk around the tiny room when Fayt came in.

"I'm glad to see you're okay." Fayt said, a sad smile gracing his face. Albel guessed it had something to do with death, the doctor had mentioned something like that before she left. _'I wonder who croaked...'_

"We'll be able to return you to Elicoor whenever you're ready. I'm sorry for any trouble we've caused you." Fayt continued. Sometimes the politeness of the blue haired maggot confused and annoyed him.

"Just where do you think I'm going fool?" Albel replied. It looked as though there were things to be done on a grander scale than his country, or even his world. This could be interesting in many ways.

_**Will I be denied Chirst**_

"We have to return you to Airygliph. We've already intervened too much in your world." Fayt tried to explain. But his words were falling upon deaf ears. Albel didn't even appear to be listening at all. There was no way to tell though.

"I'm not going back to that boring world when there are battles to be won out here." Albel said in finality. Despite himself, Fayt smiled. Albel was a competent warrior and would be an asset in battle. But he did feel guilty for pulling the man out of his normal life and intertwining him into business that had nothing to do with him.

"Fine. You'd be an asset any way. Thank you Albel." Fayt said then paused before he continued. "I'll be back later to brief you on everything and explain a few things to you since I'm sure you have questions. But right now I have to meet with the rest of the crew."

"Do as you will." Albel replied. Fayt gave a quick farewell and exited the room through the odd sliding contraption.

_**Tourniquet**_

'_So this will be the second time I didn't say goodbye.'_ He thought to himself. But this time he didn't know what he was getting into. Everything was an unknown factor to him. It was almost exhilarating, in a sick and twisted sense. But the battlefield was where he belonged, of that he was sure.

_**My suicide**_

* * *

That's it for this chapter! Please let me know what you think! - 


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